Sammich?
by LoorTheDarkElf
Summary: Call it an accident. Call it being caught in the rain. Call it whatever you want, it still dosn't change the fact that she stole his sandwich. Rated for Language just being safe.
1. Password?

Ah yes, another sister fic. I'm just crazy, no? This fan fiction gets to Loor's friend Alex, who got less face time than Fury did. Feeling like I was playing favorites, and loving my idea for the summary, this fic was born. Just try not to get too skeptical as I dip a little bit into the fantasy genre though.

**I don't own anything.**

On

With

The

Fic

OWTF!!!

**Sammich?  
****1-Password?**

It was two years ago that Lauren, better known as Loor, had disappeared. Well, most people thought she had disappeared, but two select people knew better. Actually, three select people, but one of those people happened to be dead. The two left that knew the truth happened to be the girl's ex. boyfriend Damian and one of her closest friends Alex.

The truth was that Loor was somewhere else now. Another world somewhere else.

Alex remembered it well, when Loor had called a meeting between the group two years ago. She started talking what seemed to be nonsense about going _into_ the world of Jak II, and having been sent back of Onin herself _before_ the incident occurred to stop it from happening. Alex might have passed her off for needing to be committed to a loony bin if not for one thing.

The proof that Jak, and Daxter, had come back with Loor against her will. Though Alex had never gotten details, it seemed Lauren and Jak had gotten rather friendly to each other while Loor was in Haven, and as cute as it was that Jak had followed her to this world despite the fact that she told him not to because it would put things out of whack, Loor had the greater good on her mind at all times.

Loor had planned to send her new lover and his pet back to their own world and stay on her own. There was a great many arguments back and forth between them about Loor going with them, arguments that Jak eventually won.

When Alex asked to go with, Loor gave a very flat no.

Alex had gone to her bi-polar self and become very angry with her friend.

Loor left, in critical condition on the account of the eco that was in her system, to Jak's world with him and Daxter, and Alex stayed behind no matter how badly she wanted to go. Now, Alex could stand it no longer. It had been two years, and she _had_ to know what became of her friend!

And so, Alex had a plan. That plan required getting into Loor's computer.

This plan had brought our friend Alex to Loor's house, where Loor's family still lived. Her own mother was buying eggs, which would hopefully give Alex time to get into Loor's room, which had not been touched since her family believed their youngest child had died, get into her computer, find what she needed, and get out.

Loor's Mom, upon seeing Alex and her own mother outside, invited them in. Alex slipped into the lower level of the house, unnoticed. She was getting good at that. Loor's room was mere steps away, and Alex let herself in, quietly shutting the door behind her.

Loor's room _was_ untouched. The walls were still plastered with tons of Jak and Daxter fan art, the shelves were collecting dust, and there were still pop cans on the girl's desk. Alex walked over to Loor's bed, brushing a hand over where Jak had sat with Loor as her condition pertaining to eco was slowly killing her.

Turning and still looking around, Alex saw the mirror and took herself in. She was wearing one of her favorite shirts which was black and white striped, a pair of jeans with a lot of holes in it with matching black and white striped leggings, and a comfy pair of shoes. Her hair, which had grown to her shoulders, was dark brown. She had contacts in, not wearing her glasses. For fifteen, she had not filled out much, but she was working on it.

After that moment of vanity, she turned back to Loor's computer, which was off. Moving onto Loor's bed, which was up against the desk, she sat and poked the on/off button.

The computer buzzed to life. She quickly turned on the monitor too, watching as it started up Windows and such, and then went to the part she dreaded.

Loor's user name was already there; _Nafiea_. That was not the problem.

Alex didn't know Loor's password.

It was time to start shooting in the dark.

_Jak_

Nope.

_Pervert-and-proud_

Nu-uh.

_Pendragon_

Not happening.

Sighing, Alex glanced around, worrying that her mom would come looking for her. She had to hurry up. Loor had to leave a hint somewhere around! Loor was always ready for someone to have to get to her stuff in emergency. She started looking at the stuff on the desk. There was a bunch of pop cans, old gum wrappers, paper, pencils, and a book that had a page marked in it with a post-it note.

The book was the fourth Pendragon book. Alex picked it up and looked at the marked page, reading quickly to herself.

_**"I said zero. That's the origin code."**_

_**"Zero?" I repeated. "That's it? Just... zero?"**_

_**Zetlin gave a sly smile. "The phaders are a clever bunch. I knew they would try to crack the code, and I knew they would expect it to be a complex string of commands."**_

That was all Alex had to read. She grabbed the keyboard and pulled it back into her lap.

_0_

The song 'Paper Cut' by Linkin Park started playing as icons loaded onto Loor's desktop.

Alex was in.

Loor had various files on her desktop, but Alex went down to the shortcuts on the bottom bar. Those were more likely. In a few moments, Alex found Lauren's journals. All of them were locked, but they all had the same password. Alex clicked on the latest entry, which was the day before activity night, the day before the one that Loor left.

_**I still can hardly believe I'm going back after all that I've done. I mean, after everything I fought while In Jak's world, everything I pushed and pulled against, I'm going back. Can you believe it? I just have to hope that my friends will listen to me. I mean, I know Alex will stay even if she's pissed with me, but it's Damian that I'm worried about. Besides my model of the chip, he has one too. I just hope he does what I tell him to do and destroys it. **_

_**I don't need anyone else where I am. I know Alex is still steamed at me for saying she couldn't come along. Hell, Jak is kinda pissed at me too because I forced him to go hang at D's house instead of letting him stay with me for this last week. I know I didn't want him to go, but we were getting **_**really **_**dangerous around each other. Seriously, if Daxter hadn't followed us, Lyra would have had her way for once. **_

_**The day I'm no longer a virgin, I want it to be my own choice; not my dark personality's. **_

_**That reminds me, I'm really scared about going back to Haven. I mean... there's a third adventure. What's gonna happen? I haven't played it and Jak's gonna want me to stay with him! I swear, it's gonna be emotional breakdowns and frustration all over again!! I mean... what if I change something? Something big that puts everything out of whack? **_

_**Times like these, I really miss Fury. I could talk to her about this stuff and she'd be able to help me figure out what to do. And it's my fault she's... ya know... I just wish I could bring her back. I'd give anything to have her back. **_

_**Maybe I shouldn't go. Maybe I should just kill myself.**_

_**Damn it, I can't keep trying to talk myself out of this. I told him I'm going back, and I'm going back. I just... I don't know. Half of me wants to be part of the next fight. The other half insists that this is a bad idea. Then there's that little less than a billionth of a percent that says that I should go back and just sit on the sidelines. **_

_**I hate that little percent. It suggests that I might have some small measure of sanity. **_

_**Regardless, I have to get ready for that party. We're leaving right after activity night. I thought about obliterating all of my old VC-M1 files, along with the VC-M2 (New model that I was tweaking to try and prefect the conversion), but I'll keep 'em and put the 'hint' by the computer. Just in case someone ever needs to get into this stuff. **_

_**Just in case.**_

_**In, over, and out of the race.**_

_**-Loor**_

Alex looked over this journal entry, but the first paragraph was all she needed to know. Damian had a copy of the very thing that seemed to be at fault for taking Lauren between the worlds; the VC-M1. How did it work? Alex had no idea. All she knew is that she was paying a visit to Lauren's, and recently her own, ex. boyfriend.

She had to get to Damian.

* * *

Alex had been thinking the whole way home about what she had read. Loor had seemed awful worried about stuff in that journal entry. Heck, it sounded like she was writing her last will and testament.

That was a scary thought. It was fully possible that Lauren could be dead. Oh yes, Loor was a strong person, but strength would have only gotten her so far.

Shaking the thought out of her head as she and her mother arrived at home, she got out of the car and ran inside the house.

Alex's house was a single story home on a foundation that stuck three feet out of the ground. The garage was separate, where her mother parked the car. Walking up the cement steps and letting herself into the annex room for coats and the like, the dog currently kept in that room jumped at her with a welcoming malamute-hug.

"Odin, down!" She snapped at the one year old malamute, sighing and getting past Odin. She got past the second door into the little excuse they had for a dining room. There, their wolf Lakota and the other malamute Alaska attacked with their welcomes. The two smaller dogs; Jack and McKenzie, started barking from where they were trapped by a baby gate in her parent's bedroom. Pushing past the larger dogs, going quickly through the kitchen, she let herself through the door to the living room that was also her bedroom, quickly shutting it behind her.

The living room space had her bed in one corner, under a bunch of pictures of her family before various things such as alcohol had turned her mother into Alex's worst nightmare. Truth be told, she and her mother still had some good times, but there were other times that the two could not stand each other to the point of screaming fights, and sometimes blows being struck. That still happened, and times like those made Alex really miss Lauren. During those fights, if she felt like she needed her friend, she would call Loor for support. Other times, she would get on the Internet later in the night and talk to one of her IM buddies. Either way, it offered a little bit of help when she was feeling her worst.

Also in the room was a large TV, a big blue recliner, and a couch under two windows that looked into the outdoor kennel where they kept the other wolf they had; Annie. In the living room, there were only two of the family pets. One fat orange tomcat; Willy, and Bojo.

Bojo used to be Loor's cat. The white half-Persian puffball was given to Alex after Lauren was believed to be dead. Alex had taken good care of him, but he was getting to be old for a cat and just as lazy as one of their other cats; Fat Cat.

Walking over to the TV, Alex grabbed the phone that was above it off of it's base and flopped onto her bed, scratching Bojo when the animal got up and curled back up on her stomach. She quickly dialed Damian's number.

_Ring..._

_Ring..._

_Ring..._

_"—Hello?" _

"Hi... uh... Damian?"

_"Alex, why are **you** calling?"_

Alex ignored the urge to hang up on her ex. boyfriend, sighing. "I wanted something. You still have that old chip from two years ago, don't you?"

_"... Why?"_

"Because, man whore, I want to use it."

_"But Loor told us not to go after her." _

"She also told you to destroy it, but I'm pretty sure you didn't do that."

_"Alex, I'm not going to let you use it. If Lauren saw you, she'd be so pissed with me." _

"Yeah, and what is she gonna do to you? Come back and shove a chair up your ass?"

_"Probably." _

"I dunno, maybe I'll bring her cat with me so she doesn't try to kill me."

_"Who says I even have the thing?!" _

"Says me. I know you wouldn't destroy it."

_"Okay, you have a point, but still! Why would I let you use it??" _

"I'm pretty sure I could convince you."

_"...How?"_

Alex now smirked. "I have all of Loor's journals at my disposal Demon. I'm sure I'd find _something_ to post all over the school in order to ruin your rep; among other things."

There was a long pause over the phone.

_"Fine... come over tomorrow with that stupid cat." _

* * *

And so Alex was walking away from her mother's car on a bright summer morning, towards Damian's house, holding Bojo in her arms. The old and lazy cat could not care less about what was happening to him, and the excuse for bringing the puffball was that Damian had not seen the cat since Lauren's 'death' and the boy wanted to see him.

Oddly enough, on Alex's mom, that worked.

Alex knocked twice on the front door was her mother pulled away, and Damian opened the door quickly to see her. Nodding, he motioned her inside.

She rolled her eyes. Demon always got all 'secret agent' if he was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing to save his own skin. The house was empty besides herself and Damian, his parents out of the house currently. D led her into the kitchen and then down the hallway, the door at the end on the left being his. In his room, which was decorated with motor cross posters that involved various women in bikinis, he had a thirty-inch flat screen that he had gotten for his birthday. Also, on his desk, his PS2 lay in pieces, printed out directions to how to install the VC-M1 right beside such.

"So..." Alex muttered. "What exactly does the thingy do...?"

"A lot. It's an all around upgrade, which would have been no problem for Loor to make if not for its main reason for existing. It was made to take the plasma that is electrical power and turn it into a more manageable and concentrated liquid that would be less dangerous and get rid of heat admissions from the Play Station."

D glanced back at Alex who was giving him a blank look that told him she had no idea what he just said.

"It changes the energy." He finally said.

"Oh! Okay!" Despite the seriousness of the situation, Alex started bobbing on the spot with a strange smile on her face. She was majorly bi-polar, it seemed. One second, she was quiet and snappish, the next, goofy and off the walls in energy.

Bojo yawned as D started putting the PS2 back together. Several moments later, it was ready to go. Alex went up as Damian turned the PS2 on, the Jak III game in. He knew it had nothing to do with where, or _when_, she landed, but it was just something he thought was right to do. So he went to the scene player and started up the final scene.

The picture suddenly froze as Jak walked up behind Daxter and ottsel Tess, looking up at the precursor ship. Alex reached a hand back behind the PS2, pressing her fingers on the opening for the fan as she looked back at Damian.

"Ho-bay ho." He offered.

She froze, much like the screen, as the eco that came from the VC-M1's energy conversion struck her fingers, sparks jumping up her arm with pain.

_Ready or not Loor... here I come._


	2. Caught In The Rain

Chapter two, yay! Oh yeah, sorry, but the story kinda skips around a bit with slight changes in POV-ing. I know it's not my usual style, but I wanted to try it since a lot of my favorite books do it.

**I don't own it, so (don't) sue me!**

OWTF!!

**Sammich?  
****Caught In The Rain**

Torn was bored.

Why, you may ask? Well, you see, after all the time during the underground operations and then being with the FL during the KG/metal head war, working with the Freedom League was rather boring now because it was peace-time. Even after the war, there had been that thing in Kras that had been fairly exciting. Now, nothing was going wrong. There was no one to scream at, nothing to explain why he was pissed off by the end of each and every day. What had been a meaningful military position of commander because a stupid desk job of staring at maps for no reason and reading forms he didn't really care about. He missed working in the field, and now he was stuck sitting at a computer all day telling retarded FL guards that had somehow made it through training with shooting themselves where to walk for city patrol.

Okay, so maybe he did know why he was pissed off by the time he was walking home.

It didn't help that on the occasion that he needed someone that had a head on their shoulders that his two best agents were hardly available. About five months ago, Jak and Loor got married. Three months ago, they had become parents. Loor wasn't allowed to go on missions because Jak was overprotective, and Jak was helping her with the baby.

Torn wondered why the hell Samos had agreed to letting those two get married before either of them had turned twenty. Jak was still nineteen, and though Loor was physically eighteen, her chronological age was fifteen.

So, bored as hell, playing solitaire on his computer, Torn lifted his head only to notice that a thunderstorm had started by hearing the sound. He only had to stay till two PM these days, but it wasn't like he had anything better to do. More than once had Loor said to him that they needed to find him a girl friend so he had something more to fill out his day with. He would always give her the evil eye when she suggested this, reminding her that he didn't like meeting new people. He would make a point of ending the conversation if she attempted to bring up Ashelin as a possibility. There was a reason that relationship had stopped where it had, and it wasn't going to pick up again if he could help it.

Glancing at the clock, it was almost eight PM. Finally deciding it was time to go he sent in his daily notice that he was leaving through the network, where it would register with payroll, shut down his computer, and left. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that he was working an office job. He got to the elevator, went down to the street, and finally got outside to see it was poring rain in New Haven.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he started walking anyway, despite the fact that it was raining. It was a warm rain because it was just near the end of spring. Normally, he would have gotten a zoomer, but didn't bother. He didn't know why, but he just wanted to walk.

Mostly, the streets were empty. Occasionally, a zoomer went past or someone ran by with a newspaper over his or her head in place of the umbrella they left at home. Sighing, Torn focused on his feet. He hardly noticed when he strolled right past his apartment building, getting lost in thought. Yeah, he lived in an apartment. The pay was pretty good, being commander and all, but there was a housing crisis currently. Even if he wanted to get a better place, there were no real homes to buy. Haven was going to be expanded soon for the baby boom that had occurred after the war. So for the time being, he lived in a single bedroom apartment on the fifth floor.

For some reason, he didn't care as he crossed into the slums. He had noticed now that he had left the New Haven section, but he didn't turn around. He just kept walking. With his head down, he had to jump out of the way at the last section as a small child ran past him, nearly hitting him.

When he looked up, it was a little girl, chasing something. "Julesy baby! Come back!!" The little girl shouted, running into an ally after whatever she was following.

Normally, Torn would ignore this little event, but in the lack of anything happening for the past few months of his life this sparked his curiosity. He followed to find the little girl had been chasing a stray animal.

A muse.

That was strange. Muses were rather uncommon in Haven, along with any stray animals unless you counted rats. Still, a muse it was, with a back pelt and red splotches on its body. It was yowling and hissing at the little girl, whipping what would normally be a very fluffy tail, made flat by the rain. Attached to that tail were a bunch of tin cans that someone had tied there.

"Jules!" The child cried, getting closer. "I was just playing! I'll take them off, I promise!"

Torn glared at the kid. "You put those there...?"

Both the muse and the child suddenly looked up at him, and the child screamed while running away. Torn shrugged off the kid leaving and approached the animal slowly, looking down at it. The muse's ears, which had been flat back in being pissed at the kid, had dropped down in what almost seemed to be shock. Its tail had also dropped, looking up at him with bright red eyes.

Torn bent, looking at the muse for a few moments, and then reaching for its tail. At once, the animal bit at him, and he pressed his lips together, showing a flat hand as if he could tell this animal that he meant no harm. He just wanted to get the cans off.

The muse looked at him, and then his hand, and then put one of its front paws onto his hand. Still looking at him, its eyes almost seemed to smile as, believe it or not, the creature nodded. This time, when he reached for the cans and the tail, it didn't even shrink away from him. Quickly, he undid the knot in the twine and let the cans drop to the ground, patting the sopping wet muse's head and then getting up.

He turned to walk away. The muse followed him. He glanced back at the animal, and raised an eyebrow. "What?" He asked out loud. "Listen, I'm not allowed to have any pets, and I don't really..." He trailed off. He was going to say he didn't have time for a muse, but on the other hand, it would give him something to fill out his day besides walking to and from work.

The muse started to shiver, and then ran up to get in front of him. He looked down, and sighed. "The land lord is going to kill me, you know that?" he asked, leaning down and picking the muse up. Decidedly, it was female, and she didn't like being held on her back, preferring to rest her head on his shoulder and hug her stomach to him.

"Jules, huh?" He sighed. He was feeling fairly insane for speaking to a creature that could not understand English. He pulled his shirt off to wrap her up, which would let him smuggle her into the building. Once past the front desk it was a quick run up the stairs (He never took the elevator) to the fifth floor, and a swipe of his key card to unlock his apartment and put her down on the carpet once the door was shut behind him.

Now why the hell did he do that...? Precursors knew, but he didn't. Still, he went to go hang up his sodden shirt on the shower curtain rod in the bathroom and got a towel out to dry off the muse he had found. He knew that they were feline creatures and didn't like water much, which would raise the question of why she had been out in the rain to get the cans tied on her tail in the first place.

Getting back to the main room, he expected to find the muse licking herself dry, but found her shaking and dragging her paws on the carpet. Strange behavior... coming up, he sat down and put the towel on his lap. "Hey... Jules." He said, seeing if she responded, which she did, looking over. Torn knew better than to just pick her up. That was the right way to go if you wanted an animal to hate you. They had to come to you.

And she did, quickly slinking over and borrowing her head into the towel. He snickered, picking up the ends of the towel and starting to assist in rubbing her dry, smirking as she would start to squirm when he tried to rub her stomach.

_What...? Is she ticklish? _

It soon became a strange game, where he would start rubbing her back her head, or trying to fluff up her tail again then sneak a pass at her stomach once she had stood up again, seeing as she would curl up every time he went for it.

A lopsided smile took up on his face as she nipped at him.

After he had helped to dry her off he hung up the damp towel with his shirt, finding something to eat as Jules started to explore, looking around, and then suddenly racing around the small apartment. She was suddenly full of energy, weaving around furniture, between his feet, into his bedroom, back out and across the tile floor of the kitchen, where she suddenly lost her footing and slid across the floor, slamming into the wall. Snickering, amused, Torn watched as she got back up and started tripping away from the wall, dizzy.

Reaching for his comm., he thought he ought to stick at least one on Loor's chest. He buzzed her, and she picked up quickly, the display showing the raven-haired teen and her child, who was fast asleep in her mother's arms. _"Yeah?" _Loor answered, quietly, as not to wake Lynn.

"I think I found something to fill out my time..." Torn snickered.

_"What, you bring a hooker home and she decided to hang around?" _

His temper brought a spark across his face, but he ignored the jab. "No, I found a stray muse." He turned the camera for display capture to Jules, who was attempting to stand on her back legs while moving her front legs in what almost looked like she was dancing.

Loor started laughing. _"Wow... personally Torn, I don't think you're going to be able to live with that thing for very long." _

"What makes you say that?"

_"Easy. Muses are energetic balls of fluff that are all over the place at all times unless you piss them off, from which they run away. You, my friend, are a freaking ice king. You're either going to throw it out a window or kill it by the end of the week, I guarantee you._"

"Whatever Loor." He muttered. "It's just a pet. How hard can it be?"

_"You'd be surprised." _Loor replied before hanging up.

He rolled his eyes, putting the little communicator aside and looking back to see that Jules had run into his room. He finally fixed himself a sandwich, grabbing one of the bags of lunchmeat out of the refrigerator as he went into his room to go eat. He nibbled on his sandwich, and put the bag of lunchmeat down by Jules. Last he checked, muses ate meat, so he hoped she would eat that since he didn't have any pet food.

Jules attacked the bag with a happy mew.

That answered that question.

He shook his head. "Caught in the rain..." He muttered out loud, looking at her. "Right?"

She lifted her head to mew at him again, and it almost sounded as if she was giggling.


	3. Sara

Ah!! Long chapter! XDDD I'm sorry, I didn't mean to drag this out that much. XD

**No Ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Sammich?  
****Sara**

When Alex came to, the first thing she noticed was that her head hurt like hell. This wasn't headache pain, this was a fucking migraine!! Letting out a sound that she thought was a groan, not bothering to lift her head; she tried to remember why she was on her belly.

The thought suddenly went through her sore brain of what had occurred in Damian's room, and she lifted her head very quickly, eyes wide.

What she saw just made her head hurt more.

She was on her belly on the ground in an alley, which was strange enough till she tried looking beyond the decrepit buildings that made up the alley. She didn't have to get up, simply looking and focusing on the people walking past. They were just people, and at first she was not alarmed. It was about five seconds later that she freaked out.

Those people had the long pointed ears that were the Jak and Daxter trilogy's trademark. Every last one of them.

Alex now made an attempt to get up, pushing herself to her feet... to lose her balance and fall flat on her face. She let out a little squeak, wondering why such had happened. She tried again, and got the same result. She felt so strange, and oddly low to the ground. Still flat on her belly, she started scanning around for something that could have been tripping her, but saw nothing of the sort. Still, near her was a shattered piece of dark glass, and that was more than enough explanation as she stared into the reflection that glass gave off.

Silted red eyes stared back at her from a fuzzy feline face with a black nose, black fur, and red splotches. Strangely long ears, which were down in pure shock, and a fluffy body to match. She didn't believe it, trying to master what was actually four feet, where she had attempted to get up as if she had two. Shakily, she tried to get up only to fall down again, wondering how this could have happened. Last she checked, she was totally and completely human. Not... not fuzzy squirrel cat!!

She opened her mouth, as if to say that there was no possible way that she could be this fluffy animal, but what would have been loud and probably crude words of protest came out as a chattering sound coupled with a loud yowl, finished with a hiss at the glass she was staring at. As this had no effect, she finally got to her paws and managed to balance on all fours, suddenly feeling the continuation of her spine.

She turned to see her tail, and wiggled it to make sure it was hers.

She started yowling again, falling down once more as she attempted to bound away from the unknown appendage.

Okay, she had to calm down. There had to be a logical explanation for this. There _had_ to be. This had happened for a reason, she just had to figure out what it was. Okay... there was eco involved in bringing her here, which always meant trouble, but that didn't explain why she was some type of strange cat thing. In accordance with the third game, if it was eco related she would have turned into an ottsel, not a feline/rodent. She glanced at the make shift mirror again, trying to figure out what kind of creature she had turned into, chattering at the reflection. Wait... she had seen one of these creatures before...

In the first Jak and Daxter. She knew what it was now, but hadn't gotten it at first because of the colors. She was a muse. What the hell? Now she was really confused, and it was not getting better. There was no logic behind what had happened, no reason she had ended up like this!! Now, Alex usually wasn't that logic based, but right now her mind could hardly understand her reflection, and the tail felt _really_ weird.

Alex finally decided she was not going to figure out anything sitting in alleyway, and managed her feet again while trying to walk. It was so strange, but she finally managed it when she thought of crawling on her hands and knees, only being able to be a little more... balanced about it. She walked out of the alley and stuck to the walls of buildings. She didn't like people, and this was a city.

That meant there were a lot of people.

Looking all around, there was no doubt that she was in the slums section of Haven city. In all of it's glorious squalor and dirty stink, it was impossible to mistake.

Alex just realized the next part of her musey-ness. Her nose was picking up a lot more than it should have, and it was making her want to hawk up a hairball in this city section. She started looking about to distract herself and remember that she had some stuff to do. The first thing was to find Loor, which was going to prove to be difficult when she couldn't see over people, or through them for that matter from her small and low standpoint. Loor could be anywhere, and Alex would not know because she refused to look up in fear of looking up someone's skirt.

Her aimless wondering was suddenly kicked into a higher gear as she glanced back, hearing shouting behind her.

There was a small band of kids that had sighted her, and they were coming her way. She felt her ears fall again, trying to take off quickly but falling when attempting a run. She got up, going at a quick walk, trying to fade into it, but she couldn't go very fast that way. She started bunny hopping when that failed, but that ended her up on her fuzzy face again, with about five boys and one small girl standing over her.

Alex whimpered, closing her eyes while not getting up. Maybe if she played dead they would leave her alone.

"What happened?" One of the boys asked.

"Should I get a stick and poke it?"

_Her._ Alex growled in her mind. _I am female, and you idiots are all looking at my bare ass. You should be able to tell by the fact that you don't see any balls, right?_

"Naw..." Another boy answered, the sound of him taking a step forward. "Maybe we should bury it or something."

"What if she's alive??" The girl crowed.

_Hey, look, someone has some sense. _

"How do you know it's a she, Sara?"

Sara made a sound in the back of her throat. "It donno, I just think she's a she, and I think she's not dead, so leave her alone!"

Several of the boys groaned. "Jeez, Jessie, why did you have to bring your little sister along?"

Jessie sighed, being the person who had suggested burying Alex. "It was either that or leave her home alone."

"You should have!" Sara snapped. "It's not like I'd hurt myself or anything!"

"Sara!" Jessie growled. "You're seven years old, you don't need to be sitting in the house if someone tries to break in."

"I'm seven years old. I'm old enough to shoot them."

_Yow._

"Fine little miss attitude, you want us to leave the muse alone, you can keep her. Help yourself."

Alex whined slightly when she felt Sara's small hands picking her up, clamping around an area she didn't enjoy getting grabbed by a seven year old. She at once started squirming when the hand shifted to slide over her very ticklish stomach. She made that chattering noise, wiggling only for Sara to grab her harder and hug Alex to her body.

"See, I told you so."

Alex had a feeling that today was just _starting_ to go down hill.

"Fine, It's alive. So what are you gonna name her?"

Alex had just found Jessie to be a dirty blond haired boy. His little sister, Sara, was a flaming red head. The rest of the boys were simply the riff-raff of the Slums.

Sara grabbed Alex again, only under her front legs, and held her up to look at her. Alex at once, holding shame, used her fluffy tail to censor herself, pulling up her back legs and laying her ears flat back in piss off-ed-ness. She was getting the hang of this muse thing. Now, if only she could figure out how to use the claws... She knew she had them, she could feel them. She just didn't know how to push them out. Was it like pushing other things out of her body? If so, that would be really weird. That would be like trying to go to the bathroom every time she wanted to hurt someone.

Ew.

Sara was looking at Alex for a long time, making both females' shoulders start to ache, before Sara finally decided upon a name.

"Jules." Sara chirruped, pulling the newly named muse out of the air and back to her shoulder with a little more force than necessary, making 'Jules' whimper and cough slightly, her ribs getting squished against this girl's shoulder. When she started to try to worm away the girl squished her more.

From there, Jessie let Sara go home so he could run with his gang without getting held up by his little sister. Their home, it turned out, was a broken down building with a blanket for a door, rags over holes in the walls that counted as windows, and two piles of scraps that had to be the beds that belonged to the two kids.

They were orphans.

At once, Jules felt less anger for Sara and a little more sympathy. Her plan had been to run when Sara set her down, but knowing that this girl lived the life that she did, Jules simply sat when she was let to the floor, still with her tail between her legs. She felt really weird without underwear, starting to understand why Daxter missed pants so much. Watching carefully as Sara started running around, trying to make a rag pile for her. Her mind became active again, wondering how this happened. Why was she sitting in a damp makeshift abode? Why was she fuzzy? Where was Loor?

Where was Loor's cat? She suddenly realized she was yet to see the white fuzz ball. Bojo had to be somewhere around.

_"Oh, so she brought another one home."_

Jules suddenly rounded, hearing a voice behind her that... she understood. She didn't know why she understood, really, because it wasn't English. It sounded like... the noises she had made, only more controlled. As she turned, she caught sight of a dark blue and bright yellow muse. By the sound of it's... 'voice' it was male.

She opened her mouth, trying to ask who this new muse was, but nothing came out but a thin whine. Her vocal cords were not capable of doing what she asked of them.

The male muse started to slink up to her, perfected in balance and confidence. Watching him, she could have sworn that he was smirking. _"A mute, huh? You're cute for being quiet."_

She glared at him, ears going down and giving out one sound she did know how to make in this form; a growl. Oddly, to her, it translated to the language she already knew, only vaguely though; not consciously. _"Who the fuck are you?"_

_"Not quite a mute then..." _He seemed to laugh, getting out of the shadows of the room and close enough that she could see that he had bright green eyes, his fluffy tail kept in a clean condition and up in the air with a superior air. _"Name is Toku, as my mother called me, but Sara calls me Corky. And tell me, **Mon Cheri**, if I can be pleasured with your name?"_

Alex had no idea how she would express her name, and lowered her head, her ears dropping from anger to embarrassment, falling like floppy bunny ears by her face.

_"You don't know?"_

She shook her head no.

_"That's a human thing." _Corky smiled with his eyes. _"You've been around humans your whole life, huh? Never leaned to speak?" _

Not quite the truth, but if it would get him to stop asking questions, she'd take it. Nodding vigorously, she perked her ears back up, trying to look desperate. Maybe he'd teach her a thing or two.

Her ears dropped at Corky's next statement. _"Well, you're screwed. I can't teach you how to speak because everyone does it a different way. You'll pick it up as you get around. There are only about twenty muses total in this city, and three of them are here. Four adding in you. Sasha is out hunting right now. You'll like her. Then... there's Monch. He's no problem... as long as you don't get near him." _

That was not what Alex wanted to hear. Corky retreated back into the walls as Sara came back with some water for Jules and put down a new pile of rags for her to sleep on. They smelled funny, and after Sara went to sleep Jules did make an attempt on sleeping on the smelly stuff anyway. It was several hours after the girl had gone to sleep that her brother arrived, at once falling into his own pile of blankets.

Jules jumped out of hers and went over to Jessie, giving him the big soulful eyes as he glared at her for being near him.

"What do you want?" He snorted, rolling over as thunder suddenly cracked outside, rain starting to patter down. Jules yelped at the thunder, at once pushing her head under Jessie's shoulder. He growled, pushing her off. "Leave me alone. If you don't like the storm you can go and nuzzle Sara."

Alex wanted to know what this kid's problem was. He was pissy for some reason, and he smelled almost as funny as the rags. She leaped over his shoulders, still giving him 'the look.' He seemed about fourteen, but his gaze was much older. Of course it was, he was stuck taking care of his little sister. He had to be mature. He gave her a look and sighed. "What? You need to go outside but you don't like the rain? Go find Corky. He's got a littler box somewhere around here."

She cocked her head to the side. These guys knew that the muses communicated?

"Jessie...? Who are you talking to? You didn't bring another girl home, did you?"

Sara was up, and Jules just realized what that funny smell was. It was...

She shook her head in disgust. The fourteen year old was a hooker addict.

"I didn't bring anyone home Sara. I told you I wouldn't do that anymore." He sighed. "I'm just talking to your new pet. I think she needs to go out, but she's not a big fan of the storm."

Sara got up, yawning. "Okay..." She muttered, walking once again over to the other section of the place, passing under a bad section of the roof. "C'mon Jules. I couldn't get Sasha with this one, but you're getting this before I let you out."

Oddly, Jules found herself following the child. She wondered though, if the other muse had avoided whatever Sara was talking about, was she going to like it any better?

The other section of the 'house' was a kitchen in another life, but was now just a decrepit room with a water spigot and a bunch of broken down counters. Sara had managed to get a drawer to work on one of them, and was pulling something out of it that was very noisy. Jules just sat down again, looking at her tail and becoming distracted by the fuzzy thing. At one moment's notice she went from worrying about the noisy thing to suddenly trying to grab her tail with her front paws. She had forgotten that the fluffy thing was one of her appendages.

Near her, she heard Sara giggling. "Julesy baby, you have to hold still!" The child gave while sitting near the muse who was now chasing her own tail. Jules ignored her, forgetting her tail and hopping up onto Sara's head as the child had been bending down to grab her deranged muse. From Sara's back, she was suddenly on the counters, hopping and mewing for no reason at all. Sara at once tried to pounce on her to get her to hold still, but Jules would simply dart out of the way. How did she suddenly learn to run? She had no clue. It had something to do with not thinking about it.

After several misses, Sara managed to grab Jules and force her to the ground, holding the animal down with her body and legs while trying to do something with her tail.

That felt _really _weird. At once, Jules started to yowl, feeling that Sara was tying something to her tail. She didn't like that, not in the least. She started hissing, spitting, trying to bite at anything she could reach, but unable. The kid weighed a lot more than her, and was a lot bigger than her in her current state. When Sara let her go, Jules ran into the other room as quickly as she could. There was noise following her, and pain shot up her tail as what was tied to it pulled on her fur.

Sara followed as Jules noticed it was a bunch of cans.

"That's so I can find you Jules. If I just let you run around I would never be able to follow because you're too fast. Now, I just follow the sound."

Jules understood why Sasha had avoided this, and noticed that there was a black water logged muse that was just walking in through the blanket covered entrance, taking a moment to snicker at Jules before escaping Sara through a hole in the wall. That had to be Sasha, laughing at the fact the 'newbie' had gotten caught by the cans. Still, outside was Jules' only escape. She couldn't be Sara's pet. The pity that had kept her from leaving before turned into regret that she hadn't run faster. Still, she had to run now, and find a way to get those stupid cans off!

With a growl, she turned from Sara and took off through the blanket door into the rain.


	4. The Right Direction

And here we are with the new chapter of Sammich!! YAY!!

**I do not own Jak and Daxter. I am part of IFP.**

OWTF!!!

**Sammich?  
****The Right Direction**

When Jules took off, Sara was right behind her. Still, since she had mastered running, keeping out of the child's range was not a problem. The problem was that the cans kept hitting on the cracked street, getting caught in some cases and pulling her tail and her fur. Even worse, it was pouring cats and dogs! Alex liked water, Jules did not! In seconds she was soaked, her pelt a lot heavier and making it tougher to run. She also had to dodge people running from the rain, but was mastering the art of darting between their feet.

"Julesy baby! Come back!!"

Jules ignored Sara shouting after her, turning a tight corner and leaping over a puddle, going across one of the wood bridges that went over the trenches dug in the slums. There were less people here, making it easier to run.

"Jules! Slow down! If you don't slow down I'll never take the cans off!"

This was not encouraging her to slow down. She sped up, and darted past someone into a narrow street. With her head down, she planned to follow this street to wherever it went and somehow give Sara the slip.

That is, if the street went anywhere.

It was a dead end alley that she had run into, and she smacked her head against the wall at full speed. She shook her head, dizzy, falling back on her butt.

"Jules!" Sara cried, coming into the alley after her, panting. "I was just playing! I'll take the cans off, I promise!"

The muse got off of her but and glared at Sara, hissing at her to be clear in any language; _"STAY AWAY OR I WILL EAT YOU!!"_

"You put those there...?" Asked someone behind Sara.

Both Sara and Jules looked up to see a man standing in the alley, and Sara at once ran, yelping in fear.

Jules was left to stare at her savior in shock. She knew him, of course, from the games that seemed so far away.

Torn had come to her rescue.

* * *

Now, after attacking the lunchmeat and Torn eating his sammich (Jules speak for sandwich), Jules occupied herself with following the tattooed wonder all over his apartment as he did various things. He threw away the package for the lunch meat, cleaned off his hands from eating, picked up a few things from around the living room, and various other normal stuff. She wasn't paying much attention to what he was doing, she was just doing her best not be left by herself.

After long, he looked down at her with a frown. "What, are you still hungry or something?"

She shook her head, evoking another strange look. She guessed Torn was not used to a muse using human gestures, because he scoffed while rolling his eyes. He started walking once more, and she was right on his heels, noticing only when the carpet changed to tile and when the door they had passed suddenly shut.

Why people still shut their bathroom door in an apartment by themselves we shall never know.

It was a few seconds after the door shut that Jules registered what was going on, and looked back up at Torn, who was getting ready to take a shower.

Now, we at Insane Fangirls Productions (AKA IFP) will all admit that Alex was a slight pruve, but would take no more than just below the hips nudity. Jules is a minorly different story, but we're not going to talk about it. All we're going to talk about is the fact that Jules suddenly stuffed her head under the bathroom rug to a slightly naked Torn's bewilderment.

Thankfully, the tattooed elf shrugged it off, because if he had picked her up and tired to figure out what was wrong, she would have peeked. She refused to remove her head from under that rug until she heard water running and was _positive_ that Torn would not be in her view. Once she lifted back to a normal way of standing on four legs, she started to look about the bathroom for some form of entertainment whilst her favorite Jak II character went through several moments of hygiene.

She found this entertainment in the slowly steaming up mirror. By the time Torn got out, Jules had managed to cover the steamed up mirror in various shapes using her paws and her tail, drawing clumsy happy faces and finding out what shape was made if she pressed her head up against the cool surface. Having practically forgotten about the fact that Torn was completely in the nude, she turned when the shower curtain was pushed aside.

She let out a squealing mew as she remembered what was going on and faced back to the mirror, which simply gave her a reflection of the view she was already getting, making her cover her face with her paws, ears flipping from dangling shock to flat back embarrassment. Along with that, all of her fur had bristled up, her already fluffy tail looking like some sort of brush for cleaning out large wine bottles.

Torn wondered to himself why he had chosen to pick up the weirdest stray muse on the planet, getting a towel and doing a quick rub-off and then wrapping himself up, tucking the towel and reaching over to grab Jules, who started yowling when he lifted her up. He snickered, putting her back down for her to curl up again in a big puffy ball. It was minorly entertaining. Turning and leaving the bathroom, he left the door open so she could leave when she wanted to.

By the time she realized that he had left, he was already in a clean pair of underwear and setting up to go to bed. Also, by the time she realized that he had left, she realized that he had shut off the lights in the bathroom and the rest of the apartment.

Jules was highly scared of the dark, despite her new vision making the world a little less dim. It was still dark! With a musey yelp she leaped off the bathroom counter to smack her head into the door, tripping back and then bolting again, running into a great many other objects in the apartment head first before finally finding her way into Torn's room, jumping her way up onto the bed, and curling up.

Talk about an eventful day.

* * *

Torn was already gone by the time Jules woke up the next morning. Hell, she had slept past noon, not that she could read Torn's precursor text alarm clock. Stretching, yawning, she stood up and made an attempt that she had made the day before; trying to walk like a biped.

This ended up tripping her as she remembered the events of the day before, tumbling off the bed and landing head first on the floor. She at once started yowling and hissing in place of what would have been several colorful words, finding her paws again and trying to remember what she needed to do before her new animal psyche known as Jules took over the somewhat human engine known as Alex. Okay... objectives; she needed to find Loor, which would first mean leaving the apartment.

She doubted her muse form being capable of using the front door.

That was about as far as Alex got before Jules took over again, her nose informing her that Torn had left an open bag of some sort of meat on the counter in the kitchen. She wasted no time in running to the kitchen, scaling the cabinet to find an open pepperoni bag by the sink. This was promptly pounced upon, ripped apart, and robbed of its contents to make a muse very happy.

With one slice of the spicy meat still clamped in her jaws, hanging out of her mouth, she started scanning about again. In this scanning, she noticed that there was a window included in this apartment.

Said window was open.

Now, when Torn had left that window open he had been thinking about keeping muse refuse off of his carpets. What he had not been thinking about was the scatter brained muse simply wondering out because she wasn't exactly the type to think three steps ahead. She was more of one to think about fifteen steps behind.

So, poking her nose out of the window, she started to look left and right, finishing the meat that had been hanging out of her mouth. The window let onto the fire escape of the building, which would be an easy stairway from the fifth floor down to the ground floor for a feline. Without a second thought, she jumped onto the metal path and started on her way down, feeling some of the grace that was in a normal muse's moves. She was getting used to the form. By the time she had made it down two floors the fire escape had become a game. She started hopping, mewing and chattering as she did fun tricks like sliding on the handrail and rolling down the stairs. Once she made it to the ground, she had half a mind to climb back up and do it all over again.

And she did, for no reason what so ever, climb back up and do it all over again.

_"Moving up in estate, eh **Mon Cheri?**"_

Jules suddenly rounded, hearing a voice she knew behind her. Out of the ally came Corky. She gave a cherry mew, which was a clear reply. _"You could say that." _

Corky chuckled, and Jules noticed that his paws had taken on a slightly sparkle when he laughed. _"That's good to hear. And you're starting to get a voice." _

She was staring at his paws, distracted by the glow. He noticed it, and shook his head. _"You have to know at least that much, don't you? Us muses glow when we're happy. Don't you know that?" _

She shook her head no. He rolled his eyes, and the glow faded. _"I don't get you. I mean, you could live with humans your whole life and you'd still know the basics of being a muse. What is it about you that I just can't put my paw on...?" _

She gave him a look, informing that she was trying to tell him something, and stood up on her back legs, trying to look as much like her human form as she could, but ending up flat on her face again.

_"Something about humans. That's all I'm getting **Mon Cheri.**" _

She growled, and started walking away from him. He didn't let her get far, some how getting in front of her faster than she could blink. _"Where are we going, lady? You best be avoiding Sara. She's been awful upset since you ran off."_

Jules stepped around him, looking at the people walking about New Haven. There weren't many of them, just a few people milling about. If Loor was around, it would easy to spot her.

_"Are you looking for someone?"_ Corky asked, staying behind her.

She looked back, and nodded.

Corky came up beside her, looking to be deep in thought. _"I would ask you to describe the person, but you're not too good at talking... how about this, I'll ask you a bunch of yes or no questions about the person. You're good at answering those."_

She nodded, the best she could do.

_"Is it a boy?"_

No.

_"Is she older than fifteen?"_

Yes.

_"Blond?"_

No.

_"Brunette?"_

No.

_"Black hair?"_

Yes.

_"Well known?"_

Jules paused, looking unsure on how to answer. She didn't know weather or not Loor was well known. She _was _hanging with Jak, but being with the right people only got you so much time under the public eye.

_"**With** someone well known?" _Asked Corky, as if he was reading her mind.

She nodded vigorously.

_"Is this well known person male with blond-green hair and blue eyes, usually accompanied by an orange rodent?" _

More vigorous nodding.

_"Alright then! I know exactly who you're talking about! She's the gal who helped stop the war last year. Her name is Loor, sort for Lauren, right? Follow me!" _

Jules quickly did as she was told as Corky took off down the street.

Finally, she was heading in the right direction. Hopefully, Loor would know why her friend had turned into a muse, and, more importantly, how to change her back.


	5. Getting Nowhere

And we are back! Sorry it took so long to update, I was finishing Tattoos and Blood. Damn that fic was depressing, now we're moving on to humor! YAY! HUMOR!

Don't question my sanity.

**I own nothing.**

OWTF!!!

**Sammich  
****Getting Nowhere**

Jules followed Corky closely as the male muse led the way out of the new Haven section and into the slums. The place smelt worse than usual, seeing as there was a recent rain. Once they were into the Slums section, it was harder to follow Corky. He was a native, and thus knew all the major short cuts and stuff through old pipes than were still running through buildings, even if they had no reason for being there, and how to avoid people that might grab a muse and take them to a stray animal facility. She, on the other hand, was a complete newbie.

She managed to keep up, but that was only because he had stopped and waited for her once or twice.

Where he had led her was a place she recognized. It was a dead-end alleyway that was right up against the city wall, where the underground was located in Jak II. Corky, who had been crawling through a dead pipeline to get there, pulled himself out of the narrow passage and shook, waiting for Jules to get up and get her look at the place. When she did, she stared. The reason for this was that the underground was destroyed during the second war, and most people who had played Jak III knew the place had been covered up in wreckage.

Well, that was half true. There was a little bit of stuff still laying around, but quite a bit had been cleared out, and the buildings were intact, and there was still a building with the underground's symbol painted on the false wall, which was actually the door. Corky ran up to this door and started sniffing around. _"We're lucky it rained last night... the only scent here is Loor's... and it's leaving the house."_ He snickered. _"And she has her kid with her."_

Jules stared at him for a second as he started following whatever trail he had found. She would have tried her new nose at smelling stuff, but there was a different issue her brain was arguing with, so much that she bypassed her inability to speak. _"SHE HAD A KID???!" _She yowled.

Corky glanced up. _"Yes, though I'm yet to catch the child's name."_

Had this been some anime, Jules would have been twitching profusely, lying on the ground. On the other hand, this is not anime, this is some strange form of literature, which means Jules _was_ twitching, she just wasn't on the ground. Loor? With child? This was the same Loor who, at the age of thirteen, pledged that she would never have children, or get married. What the fuck happened?!?!?!

Corky was not paying attention to her shock, still following Loor's scent. _"You coming **Mon Cheri?"**_

She started following him in a daze, her mind also asking the question of why Corky had a French accent.

They followed Loor's path through the slums, and the industrial section, into the port area. From her new viewpoint, Jules was amazed at Haven city. It was... huge, and scary, with lots of people and lots of places to get lost. She was glad to have a guide, because there were a lot of lights and stuff, and other shiny things. Without Corky telling her to follow him every five seconds, she would have been playing with her reflection on a shiny surface in no time. By the time they made it to the port, Corky was nearly dragging her by the scruff of the neck.

And then he stopped, looking casually up at a building. _"She's in there. There's no secondary path leading out." _

Jules looked up, and felt her ears drop. It was the Naughty Ottsel, Daxter's bar, complete with the giant statue of Daxter on the sign. The head had been repaired since the recent war, but the head that had been blown off and landed on the pitchfork had been left there. It would have made her giggle if it didn't scare the shit out of her, simply because it was huge.

_"Never been in this part of town?" _Corky questioned.

She slowly shook her head no, and he smirked. _"Come on, we're not waiting for her to come out."_

Corky walked up to the door, looking up at the motion sensor that would cause it to open, and settled onto his back legs. Jules watched as the blue and yellow male muse launched himself upward, a paw extended, landing with a smug smirk as the door started to slide open.

She'd have to remember that trick.

Corky looked back. _"You're on your own from here. I've learned my lesson about walking uninvited into this establishment."_

Oh, _that_ was encouraging.

Still, Jules got up and trotted back Corky, nervously crossing the threshold from the cement and metal street into the hard wood floor of the Naughty Ottsel. Her red eyes at once started around the place, skipping over the stripping pole in the middle of the room and the booths on the side to the bar at the end of the room. She saw three people she recognized.

One was Daxter.

One was Tess, as an ottsel, who was thoroughly pregnant.

The last was Loor, and the sight of her made Jules start yowling again.

Loor was a strapping eighteen with black hair that was kept in a low pony. She was wearing a simple dark sleeveless with cargo pants and a set of combat boots. The real shocker was the small child that she was carrying; a three-month-old girl dressed in green coveralls and a dark tuft of hair on her head. The child, at the moment, was sleeping in her mother's arms. Also, slung on Loor's shoulder was, believe it or not, a good old-fashioned diaper bag.

At Jules yowling, everyone looked over, and the baby stirred.

"How in ta world did dat thing get in here?!" Daxter yelped, jumping down from the bar counter to the floor. "C'mon, get out!" He made a shooing motion with his hands.

Jules started backing up, looking up at Loor, who was bobbing her little bundle of joy to try and lull her back into dreamland. "Daxter, you should really change your door. That motion-triggered set-up has let animals in here before. I think we all remember the fiasco with the metal heads."

Dax nodded, and Jules growled whilst leaping right over him, skidding on the floor, jumping up onto the bar, nearly sliding off, and then going past Tess to the end of the bar, right by Loor. Loor stared at her in surprise, obviously thinking that she was just a stray animal.

Then, a look went across Loor's face. "Hey... I've seen this one before."

Jules felt her ears perk up.

"This is Torn's new pet. Wonder how she found me..."

And the ears fell back down.

"I don't care if it's the tattooed wonder's new pet!" Daxter grumbled. "Muses eat rodents, and I take a minor offense to predators coming in here when Tess is around!"

Tess giggled, hugging Daxter. "Aww... Daxi-kins, you don't have to be so protective."

Jules glanced over at the ottsel couple, and made a noise that, in a human form, would have been extreme gushing over the cute picture. Loor snickered, scratching her behind the ears before going back to holding her child with both hands. "Well, I better get going." Loor finally said. "Jak hates it when me and Lynn leave the house. He's almost as protective as _you_ Daxter." She then glanced at Jules. "I wonder how you got out though..." She grabbed the muse by the scruff, and Jules at once latched onto her unoccupied shoulder. "We'll stop by HQ and see what Torn wants to do with you."

Jules groaned under her breath. It wasn't that she didn't _like_ hanging out with Torn, but finding Loor was getting her nowhere at the moment. There had to be some tip-off that Jules could give, something only she and Loor knew about each other. Something that didn't include words? Not likely...

Okay, what did only she and Loor know about each other? There was the various ways they spoke, but that was all verbal, out of her range at the moment. There were various inside jokes, and a few blond moments that Loor had in her past that only Alex knew about, but how was she supposed to remind Loor of the 'Who's Gym?' joke? Jules was pretty lost, incapable of crossing the barrier of language, because the muse body was just not made for it.

The muse body, that was her only problem. She needed to change back!

Wait... back. Back, as in Loor's back. There were two major things about Loor's back that our friend Alex knew to be a fact before the world decided to stop making sense. One was that Loor's back was majorly screwed up from wearing a cheep set of boots for a couple months and then spending three days straight on her back, allowing a muscle to seize up, number two was that Loor had a sweet spot on her back right between the shoulder blades.

Jules, currently slung over Loor's shoulder as her oblivious friend started walking out and away from the Naughty Ottsel, was in a perfect position to reach for this spot. She knew where it was because she discovered it. Loor had been making ice-cream shakes with a blender, and Alex had randomly poked her back. Loor had nearly collapsed, but after continued exposure (and dearly departed Fury finding out about this sweet spot) Loor gained a slight resistance.

Very slight.

Loor started cursing when Jules smacked the spot with a paw, making a muted yelp as jolt went running up her spine. "What the-?!" She yelped, looking over at the black and red ball of fuzz that was on her shoulder. "What is wrong with you?!"

Said ball of fuzz lifted her head back to look Loor right in the face; and giggled.

Loor stared for several moments, her mind working for several moments, and she shook off the thought that had crossed her mind. "The world just keeps deciding to get more and more insane."

Jules growled, putting her head back over Loor's shoulder. _Damn it._ She thought to herself, but very quietly, for the sake of the baby that was using Loor's other shoulder as a pillow. Of course Loor would pass it off for a minor passing of insanity. Loor was the logic engine of the group, and the brain. That's how she devolved the VC-M1. If there was just one thing that Jules could do, some irrefutable evidence that Loor's mind could not pass off for some hormone inflection that she could come up with! Loor had to be able to help her!!

While stewing, Loor had walked through the redeemed agricultural section and the new Bazaar to get into the New Haven section, where the FL HQ tower was located. When she got to the tower, she took the elevator to where she knew Torn would be, probably cursing out some new FL member for being a retard, or looking through some form, or playing solitaire again.

It was the last of these possibilities that was true. Loor found the room that Torn dubbed his 'office' and let herself in. "Nice day, no?" She asked, smirking.

Torn didn't lift his head from his computer. "Sure. Did you have a reason for being here, Loor?"

"Oh, like you're _so_ busy." She returned. "Got a little present for you."

"Leave it on the desk." He muttered, still not lifting up his head.

"I don't think she'll let go of me."

At this point, King Laryngitis finally did look away from his game to Loor, and saw his new pet hanging off of the ebony haired teenager. Now, any other pet owner would have at once yelped the pet's name and grabbed it, squishing it and questioning the animal, as if it could speak, of how it got out of the house.

We all know if Torn did that, many of us would be scarred for life.

Instead, Torn got up and walked over, calmly lifting Jules off of Loor's shoulder and holding the animal in the least endearing way he could whilst still being stable. "...Thanks."

Loor rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'm going home now. Nice seeing you." She started walking out, and stopped at the doorway. "Oh, and Torn?"

He gave her a look. "What?"

"Don't loose her again, or I'll be forced to take her in."

As Torn sat down again, allowing Jules down to his lap, Jules was not sure on how much she'd mind that.


	6. Loor

Yay! New chapter. Sorry I was gone for so long, but I had a mission trip in Chicago Illinois, where I used to live.

Yeah, I hate it there. I don't like cities. I just don't.

Oh well, I'm back, and here is the new chapter. JOYUS!!

**I own nothing bitches!**

OWTF!!!

**Sammich  
****Loor**

For some reason, Jules had been gripped by a sudden bout of lazy-ness. Usually she had too much energy to be lazy, but the second Torn dropped her into his lap and started running a mindless hand down her back, she just relaxed. He had a nice lap, actually. She was completely out of it after several moments of petting, and soon went into 'cat nap' mode, purring despite the fact that she didn't know how. After a long while, Torn started scratching her behind the ears, making her stretch her head out and shift slightly on his lap.

Man, she never thought about how good the cats at her house had it. This muse thing wasn't half bad.

She hardly noticed it when she fell asleep. When she woke up again, she was being carried by the tattooed wonder, covered up by something. By the smell of the air, besides the smell of the shirt, they had returned to the apartment building. Torn was sneaking her past the front desk, again. She pretended that she was still asleep till he put her down on the floor in his apartment, from which she got up, yawned, stretched, and looked up as Torn strode past her.

She trotted behind him again, this time mindful of where he was going. She didn't want the shower incident to happen again.

That night was a lot like the one that occurred before; only she didn't follow him into the bathroom. After him giving her more lunch meat (Torn seemed to be incapable of buying pet food), Jules had gone to curl up on the foot of his bed like she had the night before.

She didn't fall sleep till he had come back into the room, where he gave her a quick scratch behind the ears before slipping into bed.

Jules, once again, slept in late. She couldn't help it. Back at home, she had taken to saying 'good morning' to her buddies in the middle of the night simply because she had a habit of sleeping past three PM. Or at least, that was her excuse. The truth was she just did things for no reason.

Once awake, she got up and went into the kitchen area. Torn had actually set out a bowl with his own brand of make-shift kitty food (more lunch meat. Pepperoni, YAY!) that Jules pounced upon, and water. Also, our boy had gotten slightly smarter over the course of yesterday's events. Now, there was a type of litter box in the corner, and the window was shut.

Well, she wasn't getting out that way.

Despite the fact that she kinda had to go, Jules refused to use a litter box. She might have chanced the toilet in her little form, but the bathroom door was also shut. Growling, pacing about the place and looking for an escape, she eventually sat down in the middle of the living room type area and stuck her head between her front legs, closing her eyes.

Dang it! She needed to find Loor again!

_That didn't work yesterday..._

So what?! She just had to find something that would tip it off.

_You can't, unless you can talk._

She just needed to be human again... Shit, she could almost feel herself as a human. In her mind, she felt an ability to flex her fingers, make a fist, and no longer have that fur coat that kept getting so weird! It was strange to have fluffy hair all over your body, even if it did keep you warm!

She hefted a sigh, going further into her mind, feeling as if she could push herself back into her human form. She flexed those mental fingers again, and stretched out on the carpet of the entryway of the apartment.

She opened her eyes when she felt her bare skin going against that carpet.

Alex, not Jules, rose from that floor, suddenly gasping for air. What the fucking hell just happened? Did she _do_ that?! What did she do?!

It took her an extra five seconds to realize she was naked.

"Oh shit!" She cursed, the first two English words she had uttered in a while.

She was human! Down to the fact that she could suddenly feel the fact that the apartment was air-conditioned. Still, she covered herself up with her arms the best she could. She didn't care if no one else was there, it was someone else's home!

It took her a few moments to re-master walking on two feet, but it didn't take too long. The first thing she did was run back to Torn's room, in search of some sort of covering. There was a closet in the room that she quickly went through, finding that Torn was an army guy to the bone. All the shirts and stuff were hung up, and anything that couldn't be hung up was folded on the bottom of the closet. Without thinking, she yanked a white sleeveless off of a hanger and slipped it on, not caring that it was guy's underwear and stealing a pair of his boxers and pulling them on in about the same fashion.

She felt strangely awkward wearing a shirt that went past her hips and guys underwear, without a bra, no less, but didn't have time to worry about it.

Her next stop, now that she was non-fuzzy and had thumbs, was the bathroom.

No kitty box for her!

While in the bathroom, after she had done her stuff, she got a look at herself in the mirror, which nearly made her start cursing all over again. The first thing she noticed was the ears. Long, pointed, and kinda freaky looking. Next was her hair color, a shade or two darker than her natural brown-blondish. Now it was a pure chocolate brown. She started looking at herself closely in this mirror, and noticed something else.

Her eyes, brown, were speckled now with bright yellow.

"Okay... _scary..._" She muttered to herself.

The things Alex failed to notice would be the fact that she was taller, and more bodily mature than two days ago, before she left home with Loor's cat. Also, because she was wearing clothes, she failed to notice copious stretch marks. At the current time, she didn't care. She started running in circles within the apartment, trying to think of what to do next. If she saw Loor now, Loor would be pissed. Regardless Loor was going to be pissed about Alex being here, but now Alex was here, and she had lost Loor's cat. That was 0 for 2 and going for the strike out.

Still... she needed to figure out what had happened to her. There had to be some reason behind all the stuff that had occurred with her appearance, and the whole muse thing on top of that! She stopped in the middle of Torn's bedroom, sighing. And what of Torn? He was going to get home to find his new pet had escaped; again. The guy looked depressed enough and a pet running away wasn't exactly a booster for a mood.

Still, he was a grown man, not a little kid.

She snickered at her own thoughts, and started looking around to see something on a nightstand by Torn's bed. There were three items on the nightstand: an alarm clock, a lamp, and a key card. It must have been the spare for his room. Why would he leave it inside the room? Alex didn't bother to question that, grabbing it. Now, if she ever figured out how to go back to the muse form, she could get back into the apartment.

Yeah, if Loor didn't kill her.

Alex felt odd, leaving an apartment that she didn't own, wearing clothing from a guy who didn't have a clue who she was. It was strange, but she managed to keep out of panic mode while taking the elevator down to the first floor and quickly walking out onto New Haven's streets.

Time to find Loor... again.

Bright sunlight found her eyes quickly, which could adept more properly than the muse eyes, so she didn't have to squint for long. Quickly walking, blushing as a few passing teenagers snickered at her outfit, she made her way best she could to follow where Corky had led her the day before. That was a challenge because she was seeing things from about five feet off the ground, not six inches, and she was too big to follow all the pipelines and stuff that they had crawled through.

She found herself missing having four paws verses two feet. Still, she had to move. Clueless to the Jak III map, and where she was going, she picked a direction and started moving as quickly as she could without tripping, still figuring her legs all over again. She felt more balanced when she had been a muse, and now she felt clumsy as a human. To tell the truth, Alex was never a creature of grace, but she could walk a straight line... most of the time. Now, she was wobbling like a drunken person.

With bare feet no less. Did I mention that the metal walkways of New Haven were very cold to the feet? They were. Had there been less on Alex's mind, she would have been squealing in distaste, but she was currently on a serious overload, so the squealing would probably catch up to her later. You know, like when she switched over to the gravel of the slums area, which was even less friendly.

Alex, embarrassed and feeling horridly uncomfortable in her on skin, spent most of the trip to the one and only location she knew by heart by jumping from stone to stone on the semi-intact parts of the streets. She knew that the few people passing by were laughing at her, and was almost willing to brave broken glass and sharp rocks for the sake of the fact that her face was almost on fire. And, lest we forget, Alex was not wearing a bra at this time, so jumping was rather painful to her.

So far, the human side of Haven city was _not_ her cup of tea.

After hopping for about fifteen minutes and swearing under her breath, Alex came to her destination. She was clutching her own chest at the same time, trying to keep things from moving about. Now, besides the usual stuff, there were even more sharp things that she had to avoid while getting up to where she knew the door to be hidden. It looked like a stone wall, which was just Loor's kind of thing. She hated it when people, besides those she knew, had any idea where she was.

The question went through Alex's head; what to do? Knock? It looked like hard stone, and there was probably space between the stone and the real door behind it. Still, she started rapping on it with knuckles. It hurt the skin, and ripped some off, making her whine in her throat, but she kept doing it.

She had the feeling of the muse ears pinning forward while her human-elf ones did nothing, picking up sound inside. Had she been heard? A crazy notent, but Alex's sanity was questionable at this point.

The door she had been pounding upon with her hand suddenly moved aside to show the same Loor that Alex had seen the day before. The girls saw eye-to-eye, Alex about an inch shorter than her. Loor's raven black hair was braided back, out of her face and out of the reach of the baby... which was no where to be found. Loor stood with one hand on the doorframe, the other lax, and staring at the person that had been knocking on her front door.

"...what the-?" Loor cut herself off, trying to compute the information that her eyes were giving her. Her brain was having a little trouble getting the message, and when it did, Loor backed up a little in the doorframe. "Alex...?"

Alex, as she was, was breathing hard and looking around, crossing her arms over her chest and taking but a second to push her loose brown hair out of her face. "My. Feet. Are. Cold!!" She shouted at her friend. She had not been able to speak the day before to this friend. This was the friend that been gone for a year. The friend that left on the fairy tale adventure. The friend who lived through the end of the world; twice.

And that was the first sentence out of Alex's mouth.

Loor shouldn't have been surprised, but she was still shocked, leaning a bit more on the doorframe. "W-wha... what are you-?"

Alex didn't wait for Loor to ask. "What am I doing here?! I'll tell you what I'm doing here!! I'm looking for you! I black mailed D, tried to come here with your fucking cat, and woke up in some freaking alleyway! And- and- if that's not enough, what's more than that but I looked in a piece of glass, and guess what?!" She didn't wait, again. "I was FUZZY!!! And- I went out of the alley- and some kids chased me down and there were cans that got tied to my tail and they hurt! And it was raining and storming and I was running away and then, then, who but of all people should grab me out of the rain and get the cans off, but TORN!! Fucking Torn, who fucking takes me to his stupid apartment! And he touched my belly! I was NAKED!! Then- then I was following him around and he took a freaking SHOWER right in front of me!!!" Alex was panting by the end of this long and fast paced rant, her hands down and in fists, glaring at her friend.

Loor stared for several seconds, wishing that she wasn't so rusty at making sense of Alex's words, an art that she used to be very good at. "Uh... you were naked?"

"YES!" She was into the squealing voice now. "I was naked, and cold, and WET! And I freaking saw you yesterday!!"

Loor took several deep breaths, and then suddenly looked back into the house to the sound of a baby screaming. "Great... you woke Lynn up..." She motioned Alex inside. "Come on... I'll go see to her while you calm down, and then you can explain what happened."

Alex could hardly move her feet, but managed, tripping past the threshold of the hidden door and nearly fell down, looking around what she had known to be the underground.

The underground had changed.

There were two stair cases now, one leading up to the building above and one leading below to where the original structure of the underground. She followed those down, expecting to see bunks and the table that Torn had always stood at in the Jak II game. That is not what she saw. Listening to Loor's footsteps going up the stairs, and the winding down of the baby's crying upstairs, she had been staring at the ceiling while descending into the basement. When she looked, the old table and posters were still where she knew them to be, but the table had chairs now, and one wall's worth of bunks had been removed for cooking stuff. The old barrel of what was burning paper and stuff was gone, the need for it taken away by an automated temperature regulation system. The floor was still cold stone, and Alex at once sat on one of the chairs and pulled her feet off of the ground, looking at the lamp that hung down over the middle of the table, swinging lightly, and a couple other lights that had been added.

Had Loor paid for all of this to be done? Where had she gotten the money for it? Being a hero got you some stuff, but she didn't expect it to be _that_ much. And if it was, wouldn't she have gone for something bigger? Sure, this was substantial living space for three people, or even four, as far as Alex had seen, but wouldn't have Loor gone for something bigger if she had the resources for it?

Probably not... Loor was never a 'big house' person. She liked things comfortable, not looming.

Loor came down the stairs soon, entering the room with Lynn in arms, bobbing the child and rubbing her back. Alex just then took in what Loor was wearing. The girl was wearing a green T with baggy black pants and no shoes, or socks. It looked like...

"Sorry it took me so long to answer the door. I had been napping... you take it where you get it. Lynn doesn't let me and Jak sleep all that much."

Alex looked up, as if she could see through the ceiling to where Loor slept as her friend sat down with her legs crossed, cradling Lynn in her arms and smiling softly. "You could hear me knocking up there...?"

"No, not really, but the door has impact sensors. Only friends know that you have to knock on that section of the wall to get someone to open it. Keeps reporters away. We don't really need it anymore, since they stopped bothering us about three months ago, but it's still pretty cool, huh?"

Alex asked the question that had been gnawing on her mind. "How did you pay for all this?"

Loor laughed as Lynn started dozing off, having only woken up because of the noise Alex had been making. "After going through two wars, you get all kinds of reward money from the city, hazard pay, medals for taking damage, being brave, looking death in the face, and a billion other things. There ain't a single man, woman, or child who don't know the story. And, if that isn't enough, me, Jak, and Daxter got all kinds of endorsements from various companies that were starting up in Haven when peacetime hit. The economy has had a major boom, and the baby boom is keeping up." She giggled. "But enough about me. You mind explaining a thing or two yourself?"

Alex knew the look on Loor's face. Secretly, Loor was royally pissed, but was keeping quite the latch on her emotions.

Time to get this started.


	7. Just Alex

I am so sorry people!! It took me forever to update and I feel horrid now! Well… semi horrid. I know not a lot of people read this, but I'm still gonna update for the few that _do_ read it and manage to show some thanks by reviewing!

Jeez, that made me sound like a bitch. Sorries.

**I own nothing.**

OWTF!!

**Sammich  
****Just... Alex**

Loor had gone into deep thought after Alex had told her what happened. Most would expect our black haired friend to be shocked, shaken, or just plain out mad, but Loor was generally not that way. Loor's first task, in her mind, was figuring out _why_ this stuff had happened. Oh sure, the VC-M1 was a thing she had already puzzled out with Keira, so she knew how that worked, but the muse thing was not computing at the moment. Like Alex had thought, her mind at once suggested the eco was an ottsel thing, not a muse thing. On the other hand, muses had a thing or two about them that could be eco related...

She needed to get some more information on this.

Sighing, Loor got up. "Wait here." She told Alex, who was looking anxious about what Loor would have said. "I'll be right back."

Alex nodded, and Loor left to go upstairs. Once she had gotten to the second floor with Lynn in arms, she entered her own room. Jak was there, napping as she had been, on his belly and peaceful. Loor knew that he had issues with her leaving without telling him, so she sat down on the edge of the bed and shook him gently.

He cracked an eye open and looked at her. "Mmmph...?" He gave, into the pillow.

"I'm gonna go out for a walk." She informed him. "Me and a friend got some stuff we need to talk about, and I'd like to leave Lynn here because she's still snoozing."

At this, he slowly hefted himself out of bed, stretching and taking Lynn from Loor's arms. "Alright then..." He yawned, looking down at Lynn. "Enjoy yourself."

She chuckled, ruffling her mate's hair and giving a quick kiss to him and Lynn before going over to the closet.

"What are you doing...?" He asked, watching her.

"I got a buddy downstairs who want to borrow some clothes. Don't worry."

"Which buddy?"

"Her name is Alex."

He chuckled. "Nice." He said this because he found it funny that Loor had a friend downstairs with the same name as a friend she had at home.

Poor Jak... he'd figure it out eventually.

Going back downstairs, Loor found Alex spinning a little key card on the table, looking rather entertained with how it shined in the light. "That Torn's?" She asked, dropping a small pile of clothes on the table.

"Yep." She said, quickly grabbing the stuff and giving a look to Loor, who turned around for her to change. Loor had supplied her with a sports bra, a black T, and a pair of baggy black pants and a set of girl's underwear.

"Hey... Alex..." Loor said, back to her friend.

"Yeah?"

"You've noticed that you... uh... look older, right?"

"Well, I haven't seen you for a year."

"No, I'm serious, you look older than me."

Alex, who had pulled the underwear and the pants on, and had just taken the shirt she had stolen from Torn off, looked at herself to double check. "Holy shit!" Alex yelped. "I have boobs!"

Loor tried not to laugh. "Thank you for your brilliant observation. I still don't think that bra will quite fit you, but it's the smallest one I have."

Alex snickered. Yeah, and Loor was carrying Ds. Even if Alex had some form of a chest, it was a B sized chest, and Loor was broader around the back. "This isn't gonna work..."

"Just a sec." Loor said, leaving the room. Alex at once covered her chest with her hands, and Loor came back with one of those infamous red scarves. "Alright, this is gonna be a little weird, but it'll work."

Loor, standing behind her friend, made Alex stick her hands up in the air, and started wrapping the scarf tightly around Alex's chest. It would suffice till the two girls could get her something that fit. Once they had used the length of the scarf, Loor tucked the end in and handed Alex the black shirt. "There."

Alex pulled it on quickly. "Thanks... but... Where are we going to go? I mean, who else can we talk to?"

"We have two people we can talk to, and then I got a good place we can walk without being bothered."

"Alright..." Alex followed as Loor went upstairs, digging through some stuff in a closet on the landing. After a few moments, Loor had a pair of sandals for Alex and a pair of boots for herself.

Loor led the way through the slums again, turning for the industrial section. "So..." Loor sighed, lacing her fingers behind her head. "Are you going to tell Torn?"

"Tell him what?"

"About... the muse thing."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure!" she said sarcastically. "Oh, hi Torn! I know you don't know me, but I'm your pet muse and I watched you take a shower!" She snorted. "C'mon Loor, can you imagine how that would go over?"

"I get your point, but if you're gonna hang with me you two are going to end up getting introduced to each other, and Torn will at least _try_ to deal with you. Imagine how awkward that would be if you just randomly told him after he knew who you were." She snickered. "Not to mention, now that you're not gonna be his pet anymore, he's still gonna need something other than my midday visits and Ashelin's occasional flirting to fill out his day."

"What are you talking about?"

Loor shook her head with a smirk, and kept walking, going up one of the people ramps in the section they were in. Alex, at this point, finally got where they were going. She should have thought of it, to tell the truth.

They entered the power station, which was still up and running. Loor was in the lead, and had a smile on her face as she looked around the blue room. "Vin? You got a second, or are you playing mine sweeper again?"

Alex, after playing Jak III, was expecting Vin's floating holographic head to appear out of no where, which mean she jumped when, instead of the blue hologram, a full color projection of Vin's body came into glowing existence in the center of the room. "No." Vin answered Loor's question. "I got bored of the game and started surfing the web for something else."

Alex was shocked out of her mind of how... _real_ Vin looked, and glanced back and forth between his projection and her, feeling like her head was about to explode. "Really?" Loor snickered, not noting her friend's shock. "Did you find anything?"

"Yeah, I found this site for forums and stuff. I started arguing politics with a couple of kids and been enjoying myself since."

Loor laughed, looking to Alex. "He _loves_ being right."

"Not always!" Vin yelped. "I hate being right about the bad stuff!"

Alex fell down on her butt, her mouth wide open. "It-... he-... how can he-...?"

Loor shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Alex, it's been a year since anything you've already seen of this place. There's been a few technical advances." Loor offered her a hand while looking back at Vin. "Sorry, she's had a rough day."

"I've had three!" She snapped, crossing her arms and pouting.

Vin nodded, and his hologram looked at Loor. Truth be told, the various cameras in the room were probably looking at the two girls from sixteen different angles, but it put a person at ease when there was just one subject to focus on. "So... uh... what can I do you two for?" He asked. The memories that had been programmed into his bit-brain knew the look on her face, and last he checked, it was associated with bad news.

"About three days ago, something strange happened in Haven, Vin." Loor was smirking, but her eyes were frowning. "Something that hasn't happened for two years."

Alex rolled her eyes. Loor still had a taste for the dramatic.

Vin's hologram froze, like a computer that was pressing something while playing a game like The Sims at the same time. After a second, he started moving again, but the voice was monotone. "Logical cross reverences; Ottsel population rose two years ago from zero to one, this year changed from one to two."

Loor raised an eyebrow. "You know Vin, from you, I expected more suggestions before I just went ahead and told you."

Vin shook his head, the image shuddering a little bit. "It's not my fault that a computer is a logic engine! I actually came up with a couple hundred reverences, but I took out the ones that didn't make any sense."

"Like?" Loor questioned.

"Like, I doubted that you would care that it's been two years since the popularity rating of our Baron or Baroness rose above twenty percent."

Alex sighed, tapping her foot impatiently, and Loor nodded. "Alright, thanks Vin, but we have a bit of a problem and you, my logic based friend, have been nominated to help us figure it out."

"But you didn't tell me what happened." Vin protested.

Loor giggled, grabbing Alex by the shoulders and holding her brown haired friend in front of herself. "This is what happened. Vin, this is my buddy Alex. We've known each other since before the metal head wars."

It took Mr. Logic about five seconds to cut that one to the chase. "You mean she's...?"

"Yep, from my time. She blackmailed my ex. into getting her here, but something funky happened in the process."

Vin's programmed personality came into play here. "What?!" he yelped. "But... I thought you said all ways here that were in your world were destroyed!?"

Loor sighed, letting go of Alex and getting right up into Vin's glowing face. "That's what _I_ thought, but I guess was putting a little too much trust in my old friend Damian. That's not our problem right now though."

"Of course it's our problem!" Vin held paranoia on his face. "I mean, what if there's more than what your time knew about?! I mean, I understand because the precursors themselves said it was okay for you and Fury, and they said there were more adventures to come!"

Loor wished Vin's face was solid so she could slap him. She glanced down to notice that Alex was sitting at Vin's feet, sticking her hand in the light and giggling as it didn't affect the hologram at all.

"Calm down!" Loor snapped. "Listen, you're not the only stop we're making today. Don't you think I'm aware of this danger? We'll be visiting Onin today as well, but I came here for help and you're still stuck on the minor event!"

"There's a major one?!" Vin looked horrified.

Loor was about to shout back, when both hologram and human shifted their gaze down to Alex, who was laughing her ass off. "He sparkles!" She gave in a high and cute voice, waving her hand randomly through the air that Vin occupied. "Sparkles!!"

Vin gave a look to Loor. "Tell me she has brain damage?"

Loor shook her head. "No... she's just... Alex."


	8. Fury

Here I am, back again, two updates in a day to make up for my long period of absence. I'm sorry again people!!

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Sammich  
****Fury**

Alex had found herself completely entertained by the shimmering of Vin's glowing projection while Loor told Vin the basics of what had happened, and what they were currently trying to puzzle out; the muse form.

"I just don't get it..." Loor sighed, leaning on one of the many computer interfaces that had long been disabled. Vin was the only operator of the power station, even if he was deceased. "You'd think, of all things, she'd be an ottsel or something like that..."

Vin had one shining hand on his chin, looking to be in deep thought as all the preprocessors he was connected to started to work at the problem in about five billion different directions. Loor, and Alex, watched as various other holograms appeared and then zapped out of existence out of the room; probably all of the sources that Vin was consulting. There were pie graphs, equations that were quickly calculating themselves, word documents, and hundreds of other files that simply flashed in and out like little stars connected to a random light switch.

Alex suddenly started leaping all over the place, trying to pounce upon the different images. "SHINEY!!!!"

Loor's face palmed, and Vin didn't seem to notice. It took a few moments of this strange behavior of the projectors in the room before Vin went back to normal and all the other stuff went poof. "I got it." Vin said, looking rather smug.

Loor was about to ask, but Alex had started squealing. "Where did the shineys go?!"

Turning, Loor helped Alex to her feet off of the floor, where she had last pounced, and brought Alex with her as she went back to Vin. When Alex started kicking, Loor reached a hand behind the shorter girl's head and started scratching her right behind the left ear.

It was something known between friends that Alex melted if you started scratching her there, regardless of her form.

"There we go..." Loor sighed, looking back at Vin. "Anyways, you were saying?"

Vin nodded. "Well... you said that Alex tried brining your cat with her, but when she arrived in the muse form it was nowhere to be found, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, I know where your cat is."

Loor's nails stopped digging into Alex's scalp, causing Alex to start whining in the back of her throat. "Where? And what does that have to do with the muse thing?"

"It seems anything coming from your time, going through the converter that the precursors put up at calamity time, is put in the equivalent of our time. That's why when you came here that your ears changed. Now then, muses are what we have instead of cats, even though they're, genetically speaking, closer to squirrels-"

"Get on with it." Loor growled, scratching Alex again to get to stop squirming.

"Sorry." He shifted slightly. "Well, the other thing in this equation is that anyone using the VC-M1 has a slight contact with eco, which connects them to the main device and brings them forward in time a set amount of years, months, and days. That'd be why she's appearing now instead of say... when you showed up, Loor. Still, she was holding your cat, and eco tends to do strange things to living creatures."

"...Like...?" Loor was starting to get it, and her hand dropped off of Alex's head, making the person mentioned suddenly stand straight up and look around like she was confused.

"A great many things, but at the moment the only plausible explanation for what happened is that the eco Alex had contact with fused her and your cat together, gifting her the muse form and the ability of shifting between the two, in the same fashion that you and Jak switch between your normal selves and your other personalities."

Alex suddenly got up in Vin's face. "Does that mean I'm a kitty?"

Vin, even though her trying to touch him would have not affected him, backed up a step. "Uh... yeah. Sure."

"I'M A KITTY!!!!"

Loor grabbed Alex by the back of her shirt before she could start hopping around again. "You mean that Alex _is_ my cat? Excuse me, but if this works the same way that alternate eco made personalities does, that means she's gonna pick up on a lot of Bojo's personality traits. And let's not forget that my cat was _male._"

"True." Vin shrugged. "So she may pick up a few things connected to your cat and she may have a bit more testosterone in her system. She'll live at the least."

"Loor..." Alex suddenly sounded worried, for the first time so far in that situation. "Your cat is a purve... EWW!! I DON'T WANNA BE A STALKER KITTY!!!"

Vin gave a look to Loor. "You guys are friends...?"

"Believe it or not Vin, me and Alex go back pretty far."

"I'm surprised you haven't killed her yet."

Alex snickered. "She threatens."

"Meh." Loor shrugged. "We try to kill each other sometimes. Alex is kinda bi-polar..."

Alex nodded, grinning. "Yepers! One second I can be all DEE, and the next I can go all GRR!!"

"Loor, your friends scare me."

"The _three_ of us together scare everyone." Loor grinned. "Speaking of... I'll be right back. Alex, don't terrorize him too much, okay?"

"Only as much as your termites!" Alex shouted at Loor as she went outside.

"Termites...?"

"Uh-huh!" Alex sat down on the floor, rocking back and forth, grinning for no reason. "Loor has termites in her room that do her _evil_ bidding! _EEEEEEVIL!!!_"

Poor Vin...

"Uh... are you sure there's nothing wrong with your head?"

She shook her head no, still smiling.

"Good, because I think you might have been dropped on it when you were a baby."

Alex gave a big gasp, like a little kid. "You're right! Only I wasn't dropped."

"You weren't?"

"I was thrown."

Vin _really_ hoped she was kidding. That is, if a machine could hope... Who knows?

Thankfully, Vin was saved as Loor came back in with someone else flanking her. It was a girl of about fifteen with the brown part of her hair up in a high pony and the naturally sliver parts down and framing her face. She was wearing a simple kimono-like top that tied off at her hips and had fabric splitting into threads and hanging to her knees, wearing jeans with a set of orange sandals. When her jade colored eyes landed upon Alex, she yelped.

"Alex!!" She yelled, running at the brown haired girl. "Loor told me that you were here, but I had to see it!"

"Fury?!?!" Alex questioned as she was glomped. She hugged back for a few moments, then pushed Fury away. "Wait a second, you're dead!!"

Loor giggled. "It's a strange story, to tell the truth. Yeah, Fury died. Then..." She smiled. "The precursors asked me if I wanted anything after helping get rid of Errol and all... and I asked them to bring her back, along with her boy toy."

Fury got up, glaring at Loor. "He's not my boy toy, he's my _boyfriend._"

Fury was suddenly knocked down at Alex glomped _her._

"YAY!! You're not dead!!"

Loor sighed. "C'mon guys, we ought to get going. We got one more stop today after lunch and I'd like to make it_ before_ we lose daylight."

"Food?" Alex was on her feet at once.

"Yeah, food." Loor snickered as Fury picked herself up. "We can talk on the way." She then looked back at Vin's projection, which had gone silent. "Thanks for the help Vin, I'll drop in sometime tomorrow."

"As usual." Vin answered, and then zapped out of existence.

"It's creepy how he does that..." Fury muttered.

"I know..." Loor sighed, leading the way outside. Both of her friends followed her, but there was a new detour when they got outside.

"Y'all took yer damn time 'bout gettin' back out 'ere." Said a voice once everyone was outside, and Alex had to look down to see whom it was. It was an ottsel, dark silver in coloration with black eyes.

Alex stared for a second, and then attacked, running up, grabbing the fluff ball, and hugging it. "KITTY!!!!"

"What da...?!" The fuzzy yelled in protest. "I ain't no kitty! Stop attackin' meh! Da name is Serenity, dang it! Now git your 'ands offa meh!"

Serenity, as she named herself, laid her teeth into Alex's hand when she didn't oblige. After that, Alex quickly dropped her, nursing her hand. "Bad kitty!" She growled as Serenity scaled Fury and sat on the girl's shoulder.

"Ah told yeh I'm not no kitty! Ottsel! O-T-T-S-E-L!!"

Loor quickly got in the way. "Serenity, Alex calls almost _all_ animals 'kitty.' It's just her thing."

"Ah don't like eet..." Serenity huffed, adjusting the shirt and shorts she wore. She wore a simple black sleeveless and jean shorts with an extra hole for her tail.

"Deal." Fury told the creature on her shoulder, and then looked at Loor. "Can we get going now? Lunch sounds good." As she said this, Serenity looked like she was settling in for a nap. Alex noticed at this point that the ottsel looked very young, almost like a toddler in her own race's terms.

"Right." Loor started walking again, leading the way to the Naughty Ottsel. Daxter always had something for Fury and Loor, and Alex would be no problem once Dax knew she was a friend of Loor's.

"So..." Fury turned to Alex as they got walking. "Is it true that you blackmailed Demon?"

"Hell yeah." Alex smirked.

"Awesome." Fury and Alex exchanged a quick high-five. "He had it coming to him."

"I know." Alex was calming down now, getting out of her high mood swing. "By the way... Fury, what are you wearing?"

"You like it?" Fury grinned. "It's homemade."

Loor smiled over. "Since Haven had no age restrictions on business and the such, Fury is helping bring fashion back into Haven. She's part of the economic boom."

Fury nodded. "Yep, I own my own line and everything."

"What's it called...?" Alex questioned.

"Ammo and Obis." Fury snickered. "I'm brining Japan back! Isn't it great?"

"That is so cool." Alex said. "I guess you're pretty well off then, right?"

"Yep. Not to mention Loor and Jak aren't the only ones who got rich when the war ended, simply from exposure. The whole of Haven knows what happened with the precursors, even though some people think it's a trick. And, like, I understand them thinking that, and to tell the truth I wouldn't have many issues with them _all_ believing that."

Loor snickered. "Fury has more people badgering her everyday than me, and it's the same case with Artimus. They refuse to tell anyone what death is like, and the press still hunts them on occasion. She won't even tell _me._"

"That's because you don't wanna know, Loor." Fury glanced back. "Plus, it makes it fun to tease you."

Alex sighed, looking down. "So you guys are famous, huh?"

"And hating it, your point is?" Loor questioned.

"Well, Loor, I was afraid that you were gonna be dead, I didn't even know that Fury was alive, and if I did find you, I was expecting to find you... well..."

"Being normal? Running around causing havoc?"

"Yeah."

"Well, then look at Fury, because my adventuring days are _over._"

Fury snorted. "Just wait, the next thing you know, and someone brings back Gol and Maia the same way we brought back Errol."

Loor growled. "If that's the case, _I'm_ not dealing with it. I've settled down for the most part. I have a family. I can't just go running around and trying to get myself killed." She patted Alex's back. "We'll let the bi-polar one deal with it."

"Yeah." Fury chuckled. "How is she gonna attack them? Confusion?"

"Nu-uh!" Alex said, going back into a mood swing. "I'll LICK THEM TO DEATH!"

Fury and Loor looked at their friend, and the trio broke out giggling.

Heh, just like the old days.


	9. Ammo and Obis

Welcome back, one and all! I'll have another chapter up as soon as my mum reads it! Or maybe before, depending on how impatient I get… XD

**I don't own Jak and Daxter, so (don't) sue me.**

OWTF!

**Sammich  
****Ammo And Obis**

The group went to the Naughty Ottsel for lunch, where Serenity woke up and at once dropped off of Fury's shoulder, getting up onto the counter where Daxter and Tess were. At once, the small silver ottsel hugged Tess, careful of the older female's pregnant stomach. "'Ello mum..."

Alex gave a look to Tess that Loor caught, snickering lightly. "When Fury came back, Serenity was just a baby... and Tess adopted her."

Fury shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Only because I didn't have time between getting into business and school."

Alex snapped a look back at Fury. "You have to go to school here?!"

Fury glanced Alex up and down. "Not you. You look like you skipped your teen years and went straight to drinking age when you fused with Loor's cat. But yeah, Haven's education system started back up, and Loor made _frickin sure_ that I went back in." Fury then glared at Loor for this, as if it was some horrid crime.

"What?!" Loor yelped. "C'mon Fury, you can't blame me!"

"Oh yes I can! I'm stuck in school again after being _dead_ for a year, and you and lucky Alex got to skip right over it!"

"It's not my fault that the Baron decided I made a good guinea pig!"

"But it _is_ your fault that I came back at the age that I had died, since you wished me back without the eco damage!"

"What, would you rather Serenity still being evil, talking to you in your mind?"

"Well... fine, but what's Alex's excuse??"

Alex put her hands up, as if to say that she wasn't getting dragged into this argument, but Daxter answered for her. "Alex's excuse is that you guys are ignoring the guy with the menus."

Loor giggled, going over to the bar and sitting. "Ah, Dax, how did you know?"

"I know because you, my lady, stop here almost every day for lunch." Dax dropped a menu that was bigger than him in front of her. "And Fury, long time no see. How come you don't drop by more often?"

"Because." Fury said, taking her own menu. "I'm busy."

"Too busy to see Serenity's adoptive parents once in a while and say hi?" He joked, shaking his head. "And, Alex, was it?" He smirked. "Loor, how come you didn't tell me you were running with a new lady?"

"She's not new, technically speaking." Loor smirked, looking over the item in her hands. "Look closely Dax, you might know her already."

"If I did already know her, I would have recognized her by now!" The ottsel nipped back as Alex took her menu from him. "I never forget a cute face, and that one is pretty cute!"

Alex wrinkled her nose at him, giggling and leaning down to Dax's level. "Smelly kitty!"

For the few and proud who managed to drag themselves through Vacation or War up to the second part, you would know that Alex hugged Daxter like her favorite teddy bear when she first saw him, licked him, and then, upon finding that Daxter was not a creature of hygiene, yelped 'Smelly kitty' at the top of her lungs.

Daxter had issues forgetting that event.

"Whoa, _that_ Alex?!??"

Alex waved a hand over her face. "EW! Kitty has bad breath!" She said sitting back up, looking over her menu.

Daxter slid down the counter. "Back things up Loor! How did _she_ get here?? We already had two of the trouble trio, and now we got all three of you!"

"She blackmailed my ex., who didn't do what I told him to do when I told him to destroy the last copy of the VC-M1. Don't worry Dax, if she's still here tomorrow, everything is okay."

Dax nodded, and then slid down to the other side of the bar. "So, Alex, you need a job?" He asked.

Alex lowered her menu, looking at the ottsel. "Uh... maybe?"

"Well, if you ever do, we can always use a hand around here during the night shift." Dax grinned. "Not to mention it's a great reference if you wanna get a job anywhere else in the city."

"Only if you brush your teeth." Alex muttered, looking back at her menu.

"Deal!"

Tess, with Serenity, giggled at the other side of the counter.

* * *

"So where to next???" Alex asked, practically jumping up and down when they got outside. Of the many things that Loor had introduced to Haven City from her own time, she was regretting introducing caffeinated soda, because Alex had drank about three glasses before they left.

"We need to go to the Bazaar for two reasons..." Loor said, putting her hands behind her head and thinking. "We need to get you some clothes that fit, and pay a visit to another friend of mine."

Fury perked up. "Oooh! We can stop by my store!"

Loor giggled. "We're gonna shop around Fury, but I'm sure Artimus won't mind us visiting. Not to mention, I've been looking at the new piercing section you guys opened up..."

"Piercings?" Alex asked. "What kinds do you guys do?"

Fury shrugged. "We hired a professional girl named Cloe. She does just about everything for the ears, including caps and chains, lip rings, nose studs... I don't think she does body piercings though."

"We have to check that out!" Alex crowed, jumping for joy again.

Loor sighed, shaking her head. "I hate shopping..."

Fury gave her a smack to the back. "You'll live, Loor."

"I know I will, it's just I know if I go into _your_ store I'll start enjoying myself, and then we're gonna take longer. I told Jak that I was going for a walk, which means I'm permitted about three hours after lunch, and then he gets on my case again. And what if Torn calls him out? Then _both_ boys are on my case."

Alex and Fury had to drag Loor to their next destination as she made up various excuses. Apparently she had been planning to let those two loose and just visit Onin all by herself, but the girls weren't going to let her off that easy.

Fury's shop was situated in the new Bazaar that had been built when the sections that the metal heads had taken over were cleaned up. The section was a lot like the old one, only bigger because the palace section was gone. When the palace and its support towers were cleared out, the old section was split in half. Half went to residential, and the other half went to commercial.

Ammo and Obis was a nice looking place from the outside, with a sliding Japanese style paper door and a sign above with two anime style characters standing on either side of the shop's title. One was a girl in a kimono like outfit, only the skirt was short, she was wearing pants and boots, and she was wearing a very large weapon on her back. The other was a guy wearing a horai top, pants, combat boots, and had something that paid a resemblance to the super nova mod in his hands.

"What's it say...?" Alex asked, looking at the sign.

Loor smacked her own face. The shop's sign was written in Haven's common language; precursor symbols.

"Ammo and Obis!" Fury proclaimed, grinning and running ahead, opening the door for her friends and then sitting like a geisha, bowing over her knees as if she was welcoming patrons to a teahouse. "Welcome!"

Loor led Alex in, who at once looked about with slight shock.

The shop seemed to be divided into three portions. On the right was clothing racks and fitting rooms for anything from old time kimonos, thing like the top that Fury was wearing, normal old jeans, add-on sleeves like ones that Loor used to wear at home, fluffy flair skirts, jewelry racks, and belts. On the left was a weapons shop with everything from whips to knives to guns, along with proper holsters for each that, believe it or not, looked stylish and would probably look good with all of the clothes that were sold in the place. In the back there was the section they had just added on; piercings. To top the whole look off, there was a music track playing through the shop; someone playing a traditional shamisen.

"Not bad for a year of work, huh?" Fury asked, smirking.

"You _own_ all of this?" Alex whimpered, already seeing a few things she wanted to take a look at.

"Own, design, and sell." Fury said, leaning on the wall. "And trust me, I don't have time to be making house calls like these, usually."

Loor snickered. "Fury's been making lot's of money, but she doesn't have a monopoly on the market anymore. She has to be careful what she does and it takes a lot of her energy."

"At least she has help."

All three girls turned to see a raven-haired boy walk up to them. He was looking to be a late fifteen, and his long black hair was kept in a braid. He was currently in a full horai that was black with red underneath. _"Konichiwa."_ He greeted.

"Arti-Kun!" Fury yelped, running at him and glomping him.

Loor smirked as Artimus caught his girl and hugged her, looking over. "Alex, this is Fury's boyfriend Artimus."

Artimus let go of Fury and offered a hand to Alex. "Nice to meet you. Are you a friend of Fury's?"

Alex looked at the guy's hand and wrinkled her nose, hugging her own hand that she should have offered. "Yeah..." She squeaked.

Loor snickered as Artimus took his hand back, giving Alex a funny look. "Don't worry about her. She's a little... spontaneous."

Alex was looking all over the place, and suddenly ran into the clothing section. "OH! Corsets!"

Fury smacked her own face. "Like that..."

Loor looked at Fury. "Since when did you start selling corsets?"

There was another squeal from Alex's general direction. "The same time that I started selling bondage pants and bodice dresses."

Loor looked around a bit, following after Alex. "The place seems pretty quiet too..."

"Lunch hour." Artimus explained, following them. "Most of the costumers are probably hitting the fast food places that opened up near the stadium and eating it on the steps."

The girls and Artimus found Alex looking through a rack of add-on sleeves. She already had proper undergarments picked out, a set of black bondage jeans with chains, and a white tube top hung on her left arm. After a few more moments, she picked out a set of black add-on sleeves that came with white fingerless gloves.

Loor sighed, turning to Fury and handing her the equivalent of a credit card. "I'll cover her."

Fury nodded. "You want the discount?" Fury usually offered Loor an employee discount, even if her friend didn't work there.

"Naw." Loor's usual reply. She didn't like shorting on her purchases. Anyways, Fury was running a business, and Loor had money to burn.

Fury grabbed the card and ran to man the main counter for when Alex came out of the dressing room, and Artimus went back to his post at the weapon's counter. Loor stayed, and complemented Alex when she came out. She looked pretty good in the new garb. She had already ripped open the plastic packs that the underwear came in, wearing a neon green bra with the ensemble, the straps showing over the girl's bare shoulders. Loor would also venture to say that Alex had broken into the underwear. Fury would forgive them, and Alex refused to change back into the other clothes as they went to the counter. Fury scanned the tags that were still on what Alex had picked out, and the bags for the underwear, and then leaned over the counter to look at Alex's feet.

"You want a set of boots to go with that?" She asked.

Alex looked down at the sandals that Loor had borrowed her, and Loor excused herself quickly, handing the clothes that she had borrowed to Alex to Fury to put in a bag. On her way back to where they were selling shoes, Loor had taken the red scarf that she had borrowed to Alex and tied it around her neck like she always did, coming back to the counter with a set of black combat boots and a set of white socks. Fury scanned those, Alex put them on, and Loor grabbed the bag with her stuff as Fury ran her card through the machine and gave it back.

"Enjoy." Fury gave, giggling.

"Just one last thing...?" Alex asked.

"What?" Loor gave.

"Can we go look at the piercings? I don't want one right now... but maybe later..."

Loor looked at the manager of the store. Fury shrugged, and nodded. "Sure, Cloe should be back there. Go and say hi."

Both girls nodded and started taking the walk towards the back. "Fury has..." Alex tried to find the word for the changes that were quite obvious.

"Matured a lot? I know." She smiled around at the place. "I don't know how she makes time for her other passions while doing this stuff..."

"Other passions?"

"She's still a contortion nut, and she's trying to bring anime back."

Alex rolled her eyes at the anime comment. "Joy." She gave with annoyance in her voice. Back at home, Alex would get annoyed with Fury for talking about anime twenty four seven, and though Loor got annoyed with it too, she never said anything to Fury directly.

"I understand her efforts, but I've been trying to get her to quit." Loor sighed. "You see, pretty much all culture was stomped out of Haven's people by the Baron during the fifteen years that he ruled, and Fury doesn't get that they _have_ to redevelop that culture mainly on their own. Sure, what she's doing is fine, but she can't go nuts. Of course the city is recovering, but it's only been a year since wartime has ended. Ashelin is still trying to figure out how her new position works, and most people that were refugees during the war have no idea what to do with themselves. On top of that, there's a housing shortage. We have to handle the economic boom, the baby boom, try to get people off the streets, and make more space in the city all at the same time, along with all the other little problems that people have every day."

"Wow..." Alex stuffed her hands into her pockets. "How are they gonna get more space?"

"Ashelin's first action was to bust down the remains of dead town. The only thing we left was Samos's old hut. There we've been fortifying the wall and putting up apartment buildings that will be affordable to help with the homeless problem."

"A ghetto?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know, I have no idea what an exact definition of a ghetto is, so I'm not gonna call it that." She shrugged. "These days, everyone has taken to calling it Old Haven. Maybe I'll show it to you tomorrow, hmm?"

Alex nodded, and then looked as they got to the back. There were various displays of the different types of earrings you could get, plus diagrams of where on the ear you could pick to put them. Along with that there was stuff for caring for infections, booklets on the subject, and even persuasive pamphlets that kids could hand their parents if they were trying to get their first piercing.

There was also a chair, a place to sit while you were getting your piercing. Currently sitting on that chair was Cloe.

Cloe's natural hair color was bleach blond, but you could only see it at the roots. The rest of her hair was black with red streaks. She had a single lip ring, twin studs in both of her ears at the tip and base that were connected by a silver chain, a red tang, black vest, and black bondage pants much like Alex's new ones. She also wore a set of black heels. When Alex and Loor arrived in her domain, Cloe looked up and gave a big smile. "Hey there!" She said, getting up from the chair. "Girl, you look good." She complemented Alex. "I've never seen anyone pull the black and white look before, but you pull it pretty well."

Alex turned lightly pink. "Thank you." She said, smiling back. "You look pretty good too. Nice chains. Can you show me around?"

Loor snickered, and picked a chair by the wall to sit in. This was going to take a while.


	10. Just Hanging

Ah yes, moving on to the next chapter. Sorry it took me so long to update. My editor was having issues that I'm pretty sure you guys don't wanna know about. Still, moving on and ignoring my mother, I bring you the next installment of this funny, cute, and what will eventually be a romantic story. YAY!

God, I have no life.

**I own nothing.**

OWTF!!

**Sammich  
****Just Hanging**

Obviously, Alex and Cloe really hit it off, even if they were just talking about piercings. Despite the way she was dressed, Cloe turned out to be friendly and bouncy with a big smile that could light up a room.

Loor, around the corner, smirked to herself and leaned her head back against the wall. She could probably leave, visit Onin, and come back and no one would know that she was gone. Oh well.

"Oh!" Alex was pointing at something on one of the displays. "What is that?"

"That," Cloe smiled, using her key to open the display and take the addressed item out. "Is an ear cap."

An ear cap was made to go on the top ridge of one's ear, covering it from the base and cupping over the tip, thus the name. The one that Alex had pointed out happened to have the design of a dragon's body and wings carved into the lightweight metal, the dragon's head going a bit beyond the cup of the cap. "I like this..." Alex muttered, taking it from Cloe's hands and looking at it from a few different directions.

Cloe snickered. "They're not a new concept. Ear caps have been around since before the war, and if you look at some of the old people in town you can still see the holes."

"Holes?" Alex asked.

"Yeah." Cloe took it from her, gripping Alex's ear in the middle, right under the ridge for the bone. "We make three holes along the bone so that the thing doesn't tip or fall off if you're active. It's a little hole, but you can still see through it."

Alex whimpered. "Maybe I'll pass..." She muttered.

Cloe cuffed her. "No worries. Where did your buddy go?"

Alex turned around, looking around and whining in her throat. "...Loor?"

"Right here!" Loor's head suddenly peaked out from around the corner. "We ready to go?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah." She then turned back. "Nice meeting you Cloe! We'll drop by again sometime."

Cloe smiled, giving Alex a quick hug. "You'd better." She joked, letting go and sitting back down in the chair they had found her in.

Alex grinned, and then ran to Loor. Both girls got walking, just in time to hit a rush of people coming into the place. They got past it, got outside, and Loor took the lead again.

"Hey, Loor..?"

"Yeah Alex?"

"You never told me a lot about what happened to you while you were here."

"That's because you didn't believe me till I left again."

"I know... and I saw that..._ thing._"

Loor snickered. "Her name is Lyra."

"Yeah, and why did you come back anyway?"

"It's a long story."

"Is this a long walk?"

"Kinda..."

"Then you can start talking."

Loor giggled, scratching the back of her head. "When I got to Haven in the first place... I thought it was all a nightmare. I woke up in the fortress, in a funky test tube with needles in my body, broke out, had a brush with Errol, and saw Fury looking like a hellish beast. Add that on top of the first meeting me and Fury had outside the building set us straight on the path to the underground, I thought it was just a little... out there. We met Jak, and started doing missions, and it started feeling like living the dream; only I kept fucking up."

"Really?"

"Really. First mission I was on, I separated myself from the group for a short cut and ended up getting cornered by a group of KG. I was lucky that when I dropped down, Jak drove under me to catch me. If not, I would have splatted on the street."

"What about Fury?"

"She was fine for her first few missions. She helped with delivering Krew's payment and rescuing Vin from the strip mine. Then... She was killed on the mission to eradicate the eggs from the drill platform. She bled to death... in my arms."

"Lovely..." Alex muttered sarcastically.

"Yeah, and I can't say it got any better from there. I ended up following Jak around, and I could hardly hold it together half the time. I kept screwing up, or running into things that I couldn't do. Add the nice little warning that Vin gave me, and I was a mess."

"What warning?"

"Vin was the one and only person that I had told about where I was from and what I knew. Shortly after he started trying to help me get back, he figured out something scary. Since I knew how things went, I had to be careful and make sure that all the events went the way they were supposed to. The information that I had in the wrong hands would be very bad, and I also had to be careful on what I did to make sure the storyline was unaltered. If I hadn't followed that... the metal heads probably would have won the war."

"Whoa..." Alex then hugged Loor. "But you didn't screw up! You're here, and so is everyone else, right?"

Loor nodded, smiling lightly. "Yeah, but that's the reason I came home. I was scared about what my influence would do. After Vin died, Onin picked up the slack. Right after the victory party... right after I had admitted to Jak that I loved him... Pecker gave me a call telling me that I had to go home. I told Jak to stay, but he followed me."

Alex stared at her friend for a moment, and then started gushing. "AWWWWW!!! That's so CUTE!!!"

Loor blushed lightly, shrugging it off. "I-I guess... I was kinda mad at him... and then, he wouldn't give up on making me go back with him. In the end, he convinced me, and I left home after... y'know, what happened at activity night."

The event that Loor was not mentioning was that right before they left, the group (plus Jak) had gone to a dance that the school was holding. At said dance, Loor had been confronted by her rival at school while on a high of emotions, and changed into Lyra.

Lyra was her dark personality, what had been 'gifted' to her by her time in the fortress.

Still, Onin had stripped most eco away from Loor when she sent Loor back to her own time, so Loor hardly had enough to change, and she was dependent on it. She nearly died, but she and Jak left in time to get help in Haven.

"What happened when you got back?" Alex questioned at once.

"I..." She paused, sighing. "I went into a coma. The shock and stress on my body was just too much."

"What happened next?!" Alex really wanted to know. "How long were you out? Did Jak start seeing other people??"

Loor giggled, patting her friend on the head. "Calm down Alex, I'll tell you later. We're here."

Alex stopped, and looked up at what she knew to be Onin's tent. "Wait... why are we here?"

"To see if you can stay."

Both girls walked in to see that Onin looked to be taking a nap, and Pecker was about the same, sitting in the woman's head basket.

"Should we come back later?" Alex asked.

"Naw... Pecker's faking."

When Loor said that, the moncaw twitched slightly. Loor sighed, shaking her head. "C'mon, lazy bones! I don't ask you guys favors _that _often."

Pecker lifted his head out from under his own wing. "Alright, Alright." He leaned over the edge of the basket. "Fossil lady! Up!"

Onin jerked awake, nearly throwing Pecker. Loor smiled lightly. "Hey Onin, how are you today?"

Onin started signing at her, and Pecker did his job. "Onin says that's she feels fine, and thanks you for your concern."

Loor smirked at Alex. "Onin turned one hundred twelve last month. I've been worrying about her ever since I found out how old she was."

Pecker's voice called the girls back to reality. "Onin would like to remind you two that she's not deaf, and I'd like to remind you two to get on with this so I can go back to sleep!"

Loor rolled her eyes. "Same old Pecker." She snorted. "Alright, buddy boy. If you've been listening to Onin, you'd know that Alex here is from my time. She arrived three days ago. Now, if _Okaa-san_ Onin would do a quick analysis and tell us whether or not my buddy can stay or if she has to go home, we'll be on our merry way."

Onin gave a slight smirk at Loor's works, and Pecker shut up to looking down as his master motioned Alex forward. Loor also backed up, almost out of the tent. She needed Onin's judgment to be clear on this, and to her knowledge, powerful magic had a radius to it. Loor made a point of standing out side that radius.

Alex looked a little nervous, standing there as Onin appeared to go into some sort of meditation-like state. She got a little more frightened when the fire in the middle of the room suddenly turned green. Still, she didn't move, she just watched. A few seconds later, the tent returned to normal, as the fire, and Loor came back as Onin started signing at fast pace.

Pecker watched. "Onin says your friend is more than welcome to stay."

Loor gave a small yelp of victory and glomped Alex.

From there, Loor and Alex got moving. Even if Alex didn't know how to go back to the muse form, she still wanted to be back at Torn's apartment when she made an attempt. So, they went to New Haven, went to Torn's apartment, used the card key that Alex had snitched, and let themselves in.

"Alright..." Loor muttered. "We've officially committed breaking and entering."

Alex wasn't listening, looking around the place. It had been a long day, and now she was back here. Still, she didn't know how to go back to being Jules.

"How did you get to be human in the first place?"

"Thinking about it really hard...?" Alex shrugged. "I was sitting on the floor, and I was..." She paused, sitting down on the carpet. "I could feel my fingers..." She closed her eyes, bending over and thinking about it. Loor was silent, watching, as she tried to figure it out. She had been able to feel the other form.

She just had to _find_ Jules. The muse was floating around, somewhere in her brain, wasn't she? She just had to feel the ears, the tail, and the paws all over again...

There they were! She at once took hold in her mind, flexing all of her feline parts as she felt them, twitching her tail, fluffing up the fur on her back, lifting her ears, and trying to figure out how to flex one's claws.

She heard Loor yelp, and opened her eyes.

When she did, she couldn't see clearly. At once, she expected that something had gone wrong and made a move to run. She tripped for the following reasons; She was a muse again, she was trapped in her own shirt, and her hind leg got caught on the bra she had been wearing. Upon tripping, she rolled several times, and her head smacked into the wall.

Loor swallowed her yelp and walked over to untangle her friend. "I'll take your clothes and wash them, and come get you tomorrow morning, okay?"

Jules, as she was, lifted herself away from the wall, nodded at her friend, and fell down again. Her head hurt.

Loor picked up the outfit that Alex had discarded in turning into Jules, shoving it in with the other clothes that she had borrowed Alex, and got on her way. She had to get home. She had been gone for four hours, and Jak was probably worrying.

Lynn probably wanted her mom too.

* * *

Torn sighed, leaving the FL building at eight and stopping on the way home to pick up some real pet food, and other instant meals for himself. He had been kinda worrying about Jules, but not that much. What was to worry about now that the window was closed? The biggest danger was that she'd hit her head too hard and bust it open on a wall.

He frowned at himself. That was a possibility.

He shook his head, getting to his building, taking the stairs up, and getting to his apartment. He let himself in, dropped the stuff he had picked up on the counter, and looked around. "Jules...?" He felt almost stupid calling for a pet, but did it anyway. When he did, he heard movement somewhere else in the place, and then the tell-tail sound that Jules had rammed herself into another wall. He snickered, sitting down on the floor when the muse finally got into the kitchen from his bedroom.

The animal leaped into his lap and started nuzzling him. "Whoa... what's this about?" He snickered, petting her and scratching her behind the ears, which made her melt at once, mewing and nuzzling him some more.

"Jeez, you like attention a lot, don't you?"

She nodded, pressing her head against his hand and starting to purr. Then, without warning, she pulled away and gave him a look.

"What?" He asked, forgetting about how stupid he felt for talking to an animal.

She kept staring, intently.

"What, you wanna know what I did today?"

She nodded, forgetting on her own part that she wasn't supposed to be using human gestures.

He gave her a funny look, and shrugged it off. She must have been pre-trained or something before he found her. "Not much..." He laid back on the tile floor of his kitchen. "Just sat around at my computer most of the day... yelled at a couple of idiots that probably made it through training at the bottom of their group... tried to dodge Ashelin and failed."

She got up off of his lap and sat on his chest, looking down as he crosses his arms under his head.

"She doesn't get why I'm avoiding her... she thinks just because we screwed around while her dad was still on top of the city that it was something other than forced. She's nice enough, I'll admit, but I didn't like the relationship. That's _why_ I ended it."

_Aw... Poor baby..._ Jules whimpered, laying down on his chest and curling her tail around her body, her ears dropping while her eyes begged him to go on and explain.

He gave her a look, and then chuckled. "Oh well, water under the bridge, right Jules?" He lifted a hand to run it down her back. "If I keep turning her down, maybe she'll come around, right?"

She gave him a miffed look, but still put her head down to relax as he started to pet her.

Maybe, when she went with Loor the next day, she'd be able to meet Torn... _in person._


	11. Where oh Where Has My Little Muse Gone?

Back again people! I love you for your reviews (and bringing new people to the VoW stories, please remind them to review every now and then), and GamerGirl and BlackShade, please look at the recent reviews. My Alex, AKA Alaskajenna left a message for you two on her review of chapter 9 I think….

All right then, moving on.

**I own nothing.**

OWTF!!

**Sammich  
****Where oh Where Has My Little Muse Gone?**

"I'm home!" Loor yelled when she let herself past the hidden door. There was a key panel on the other side of the alley that required a code. An over tuned nose informed her that Jak was upstairs, and she quickly followed. The upper floor was basically a landing that led to a few other rooms. To the left was the door to the master bedroom; which had it's own bathroom. To the right was a community bathroom, and across from the stairs were two doors. One led to a storage area, and the other was Lynn's room.

Loor could see through the open door that Jak was putting Lynn down in her cradle; her afternoon nap.

"You took your time." Jak muttered, looking back and smirking at her.

She sighed. "I had a lot to do, but I'd venture to say that the exercise is good for me."

He turned and walked over, giving her a quick hug. "Yeah, I guess so. I guess I just worry because we both seem to be trouble magnets."

She giggled, ruffling his hair. "True, but everything turned out okay today."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you remember my friend today?"

"Yeah, Alex."

"It was the Alex you knew."

"And you didn't inform earlier why?"

"Two reasons." She said, giving a smirk to him. This was either the sign of 'trust me' or 'you're about to be hit with a practical joke, buddy.' "One is that we had to talk to our buddy Vin because of a strange thing that happened upon her getting here. Two is that we had to talk to Onin. I wasn't going to raise an alarm on both of our parts if she was just going to have to leave on the same day that I found out."

"What happened?"

Loor had a growing grin on her face as she explained the muse thing, though she had no idea why she was so happy for Alex. Maybe because Alex had always been rather cat-like in her mood swings and sudden explosions of energy, or that the group was together again. She hadn't a clue; she just knew she was feeling rather good about the situation.

"Wow..." Jak muttered when she was done. "So... she's acting as Torn's pet?"

"Yeah, weird, no?" She snickered, leaning back on the wall. "And I've got to show her around the city tomorrow."

"You wanna take Lynn with you this time?"

"Since when are you okay with her leaving the house with me?"

"Since she threw up on my face today."

"Like it's the first time."

"Like it doesn't gross me out."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Mom to the rescue."

"As always." He muttered.

"So what are you gonna be doing while I'm gone?" She questioned, walking across the landing. She was looking forward to a nap.

"Catching up on my sleep?" He said, following her.

"Seems like that's all we do these days." She mumbled with a sigh. "Take care of Lynn, eat, sleep, and answer the phone when Torn calls."

"And you tell him _he_ needs stuff to fill out his day."

She shrugged, sitting down on the bed in the room and pulling her boots off. "Missing the old days, are we?"

"At least we were never bored." He said, sitting by her. "I mean, you've gone all activist, but I've got nothing to do till they start busting walls for city expansion."

She looked at him with slight concern, and shook her head. "I told you we should have stayed in Spargus."

"I wasn't going to raise a kid in the middle of the wasteland."

"But you'd have shit to do every day." She teased, wagging a finger at him. "How 'bout this, Mr. Grumpy pants; I'll talk to Fury to see when she can baby-sit, and we'll break out the old tools and go on a little hunting binge. There's still metal heads in the forest this time of year."

He gave her a look, and then grinned. "I love you."

"You too, buddy boy." She said, giggling at the look on his face. "Now get over here, I missed you today."

* * *

Jules woke up far earlier than she had for the past two days, having rolled off of the foot of the bed when Torn started moving. When she had fallen off, she started yowling, shaking her head and stretching as he walked past to get dressed for the day. 

"Quiet." He muttered, glancing at her. "I don't need the lady next door bothering me..."

She looked up at him, stopping her insentient noise and getting up from her stretched out position to start following him around. Obviously, she was hungry, and she couldn't get into the fridge on her own. As he ignored her, getting dressed, she decided to take a different approach.

She walked off, tail up in the air, and set herself directly in front of the fridge.

He would kick her, ignore her, or hit her with the door.

Or he could feed her. That would be good.

Torn came out of his room dressed and stretching one arm over his head. When he caught sight of Jules, he stared for a moment, and then looked as if he had just remembered something. "Oh yeah..." He muttered, turning to a bag that he had left on the counter the night before. Out of that bag came two bowls, one of which was quickly filled with water, and the other filled with kitty kibble that he had bought the day before.

Jules had come up to investigate, and then quickly groused in disgust. Torn, at the same time, was ignoring her.

She growled, hopping over the pet dishes and then taking a leap onto his shoulder as he opened the door to the fridge. Torn, still half asleep, did not notice her. Muses were light, and easy to not notice unless they were biting you. This one didn't. She simply dove into the fridge to find something that fit her pallet.

Torn still didn't notice her, and closed the door behind her, just as she found some of the lunch meat that she was yet to finish off. When the door shut, the light shut off, and she started yowling again.

It was several seconds later that Torn opened the door again, making Jules shut up, leaping out with the meat bag in her mouth.

"What the fuck..?" He muttered, following the muse as she trotted across the room to sit on the floor, ripping the bag open with her teeth and quickly chowing. He then looked up at the pet dishes, and sighed. "No kibble for you, huh?"

She lifted her head from her stolen meal, shaking her head no with a smug look and a happy smile before going back to eating.

"Alrighty then, putting lunch meat on things to pick up..." He said this while fixing himself something simple. Jules didn't pay attention to what it was, since she was eating. By the time she had finished with the meat bag, and put it in the garbage herself, Torn was making his way to the door to leave. She stared for a second, and then followed him, as if to say 'where do you think you're going?'

He looked back at her, giving another funny look to her. "What?"

She sat down, tail waving back and forth, looking at him expectantly.

"You're not coming with."

She cocked her head to the side, one ear dropping while the other twitched.

"Because I said so."

She got up again, tail in the air once more, and she trotted back to the kitchen. Torn, in pure curiosity, followed her, and watched her climb up onto the counter and start pawing at the window.

"Why do you want outside?"

She looked back at him, and then sat back on her hinds, lifting her paws onto the window once more.

As second later, there was the sound of claws raking on glass.

"Fuck, fine!" he yelped, covering his ears. Ironically, Jules seemed to be doing the same thing. That was the first time she had ever used her claws because she just figured it out. Still, despite the fact that her ears hurt, he was opening the window.

While he left, she started climbing down the fire escape. By the time that he was to the bottom floor and walking in the general direction of FL HQ, she was at the bottom of the fire escape, and made an easy hop from the iron stairs to his shoulder, landing softly and hanging herself around his neck like a fox scarf.

He gave her a funny look. "You are a weird muse, you know that?"

She nodded, seeming to grin.

He sighed. "Fine... but it's your fault if someone in the building has allergies."

She could deal with that.

* * *

"Alex?" Loor was standing at Torn's door with Alex's clean clothes in a bag, knocking on the door to the apartment. "You there...?" There was no response. Loor was a little worried, but not much. 

It was just after noon, and Loor had Lynn in one arm, knocking with the other hand. Thankfully, Lynn was napping at the moment. She had been up all night, and so, Loor had been as well. Not that it was a new thing to be up all night with the baby, it was just a pain.

Anyway, back to the door...

Loor expected that Alex had picked up Bojo's lazy streak and was probably napping, so she used the key card that was among Alex's stuff to open the door. Once inside, she started to look around, alternating calling Alex's name and Jules.

She did three rounds of the apartment before she noticed the open window.

Oh shit...

Now, one should not accuse Loor of not trusting her friend Alex, but it was the Bojo thing mixed with the short attention span thing mixed with Alex's obsession with shiny things mixed with the fact that New Haven was fully of shiny things that made her worry about her friend, in the muse form, running around the city by herself.

One should have reminded Loor that Alex did that the day before; no problem. On the other hand, as the author, that is not my job. It is simply my job to write about it, post it on the Internet, and then point and laugh at my own character's idiocy till the muses come chasing after me and then... things are not pretty. (Mom, shut up, I did this on purpose. People on the net do it all the time. It's FUNNY. DEAL. I've read a whole fic where the author kept doing crap like this, and it was fucking hilarious.)

Sorry, note to the editor.

Okay, where was I...? Oh yeah, Loor was wondering where the hell Alex was, and had left Torn's apartment in search of her furry friend. Of course, the first stop was at the door of her own dwelling. Perhaps Jules had forgotten that Loor was picking her up? Wrong-o, the muse was nowhere to be seen. The next stop was to basically go back to New Haven and check every single area that had something shiny.

That was going to take a while...

Loor had half a mind to call Torn and tell him that his pet was missing, but that would require telling him that she broke into his apartment. She also thought to call authorities on picking up stray animals, in cause Jules had been caught, but decided against it. If anyone had come after Jules with a net, she would probably bite them were the shade was.

So what did that leave? Looking about New Haven by herself.

Now, if she would have just called Torn... On the other hand, the tattooed wonder was having issues of his own.


	12. A Day At The Office

Alright people, this will probably be the last update for a while. There was a… disturbance between me and Alex, and the muses refuse to help me while I'm depressed. Don't ask about it; just know that it was brought about by my own stupidity. It was not her fault in any way, shape, or form, just me being an idiot because I don't have much of a way with words when talking to real people. So, at my incapability to write right now, you won't be hearing anything from me till this works out (Which I really hope it will) or it breaks me and Alex's friendship, upon such event this fic will be deleted.

I really hope it doesn't come to that. I love her like I love my big sister, and that's a lot. I'd probably go emo if I lost her.

Moving on…

**I own nothing, but my feelings own me.**

OWTF!!

**Sammich  
****A Day at the Office**

Upon getting to Torn's office, Jules started exploring on her own. She jumped down from his shoulders, found that the metal floor was insanely cold, jumped up onto the tattooed wonder's desk, and started looking about the small room from there. It was a seven foot by seven foot box; not a whole lot of space. It was basically a metal box as well, which was boring. There was the automated door, the walls that were blank aside from shelves that held various amounts of filing that was yet to go in the file cabinet in the corner, the desk, the computer, and the trashcan with a shredder attached.

She looked at Torn as he sat down, and she jumped atop the computer monitor as he started the machine up. At once, the top of the computer started expelling warm air onto her stomach, and she sat down, looking down as the screen lit up. Torn typed in his password, and the computer finished start up.

A paw suddenly landed on his screen, where his cursor was.

Torn glanced up at the muse, who seemed amazed with this little group of pixels that moved across his screen. Slowly, he moved it back and forth, and she clawed, with both paws, at the screen, trying to get at it. After being amused by this, he moved the pointer to the bottom of the screen to get his start menu. Bad move. Jules tried to follow it, reached too far, and fell off of the monitor, landing on the keyboard and then rolling into his lap, yowling the whole way.

"You have a pet?"

Torn looked up as Ashelin walked into his office, bearing a pile of files that needed his attention and the names of a few people he needed to talk to. Before he could reply, the muse launched herself from his lap, onto a different pile that was already on Torn's desk, and then to Ashelin's head, kicking the pile of paper off of the table. Torn dove from his chair like he was dodging bullets, trying to save the mess before it made it to the floor, but failing and making himself look rather stupid. "Uh.. Yeah..."

Ashelin winced as Jules tried to get a hold on her scalp with claws. The muse failed this endeavor and thus went onto one of the shelves attached to the wall. "What's the little horror's name?"

Torn sighed, picking up the pile that had been knocked down and putting it back on his desk. "Jules." He gave, looking up at the muse, who was precariously close to another pile of paper, and looking at it with something like mischief in her eyes.

"Lovely." Ashelin muttered, sarcasm dripping off of the word, while shoving the new pile into Torn's arms. Torn took it, and Jules made her way across the shelf she was on, pushing the pile of paper off with her rear end. This pile landed on Torn's head, making the tattooed wonder glare up as Ashelin shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Where'd you get her?"

"Found her." Torn growled, putting down the new pile and picking up the one that had just hit the floor as Jules jumped into Torn's chair, curling up in the warm spot. "On the streets."

"Maybe you should go and buy a pet the next time you get bored." Ashelin commented dryly. "I mean, I knew you had nothing better to do with your day, but maybe with the hours you keep, there shouldn't be so many papers laying around."

Torn glared at her. "_You_ try going from full throttle war to signing papers all fucking day. I have more fun getting shot at to tell the truth."

"Well you don't have to stay here as late as you do." Ashelin said, shrugging and turning to leave. "If you're up to it, you can come see me when you usually clock out and we can go do something."

Torn sighed, shaking his head. "I'm not."

"To each their own." She shrugged, opening the door and leaving.

Torn looked down at Jules as the door shut behind her. "She's been giving me the same offer for about a month. You'd think she'd take a hint?"

Jules jumped out of his chair, as if she was just keeping it warm, while mewing in agreement.

"I mean, she's the baroness, she's supposed to be busy." He growled, sitting in his chair and pulling the top of the new pile in front of himself on his desk. "And somehow she keeps finding enough time to personally drop off new shit for me to do every fucking morning and try and invite me out to lunch."

Jules growled, stretching and showing her claws before getting comfortable again.

"What? You think I should just stick it to her?"

She mewed, nodding.

"I still don't think she'd get it. And I don't think I should. I haven't been myself since the war ended. Maybe, once I adjust, I'll be able to deal with her again."

She turned her ears forward, as if he had forgotten to say something.

"Yeah, I know I said I had my reasons for breaking off the relationship. I did, and I still have reasons to keep it from restarting. I donno, maybe I'm hoping that she's changed. Call me hopeless, but she had her moments back in the old Guard, she really did." He sighed; looking to she her expression was yet to change. "You wanna know what happened?"

She nodded again while he grabbed a pen to get to work on the form that was sitting in front of him.

"It was back when her dad was still the Baron, and she was head of the Guard under the new commander Errol. We knew each other, sure, but she was the daughter of the top dog, and I was some kid that his drunken dad had sent into the academy. Then..."

Jules whined, as he looked unsure about going on, her ears dropping.

"Aw, why the hell am I talking to you anyway?" He looked down at what he was supposed to be doing. "Here I am, pouring my heart out for a muse, and I got shit to do, and you can't even understand me... I think."

Jules got up, a musey snarl escaping her as she stood on the form that he was about to put a pen to, and pushed her claws out into view. She wasn't asking for him to go on, she was demanding it.

He gave her a look. "You _can_ understand, can't you?"

If she had the capability, she would have said 'well _duh!' _Still, her expression with her ears and eyes were enough.

"Why the fuck would you wanna know?"

She didn't give any reply to that besides lying down on the paper that the pen was resting on.

"_Fine._" He sighed, leaning back in his chair. "What happened was that when Errol was appointed to being commander, he went nuts on everyone in the Guard. The people there were just his toys, and he used them any way he wished, even Ashelin... Even me. It was kinda weird, that he got to her first, and I met her later after Errol had his way with me. When we met, the titles were gone; we were just freaked out and violated teenagers."

Insert muse-like gushing.

"Call it cute, but it didn't go well. We started talking, sure, and I will admit I was a bit sweet on her. I wasn't crazy though, and she was. Pretty soon, we started screwing around. I didn't really want to, but the first few times, I went along with it. Then, she got demanding, and I starting pushing back. When I pushed, she shoved, and I was the one who fell down."

Torn wondered, again, why he was telling a muse about one of the worst moments of his life. Still, said muse seemed to understand the situation and started whimpering, jumping into his lap, lifting to her hinds to put her front paws on his chest and nuzzle under his chin, as if she could comfort him.

Torn lifted a hand and started petting her down the back. "Thanks for listening..."

She mewed and kept rubbing her head against his neck.

_I don't care if my shoulders are too small for you to cry on. I can still make you feel better._

* * *

Loor sighed, coming out of a public bathroom. She had taken time out of her frantic search of New Haven for Lynn, who had needed a change and a nursing session. Once that was done and she had her shirt back on facing the correct direction, and Lynn in arms, she got moving to her last ditch stop.

She was going to go see Torn personally. She doubted it, but it could have been that Alex forgot that they were gonna go have a day to screw around and see the city and somehow got Torn to take her to work. As unlikely as it was, it got more and more likely in Loor's mind as she walked. It was classic Alex behavior, and Torn probably didn't know better than to take pets with mood swings to work.

When Loor got to the FL, she was just about positive that Alex was going to be there, or Jules, or whatever.

Coming to the door to Torn's office, Loor didn't touch the button to open it, looking through the little window that was on the door first. She would avoid making an idiot out of herself as much as she could.

She almost went into gushing at what she saw.

There was Torn, tough ass Torn, smiling and almost _laughing_ as Jules was chasing paper airplanes around the room, pouncing and ripping them up as they got close to the ground, and then taking the shredded paper to the trash can. Regardless of how out of character it was for Torn to be goofing, it was still cute.

Loor pressed the button to open the door, and both beings in the other room snapped a look over. Torn looked like he didn't know what to do with himself, in the process of folding another junk paper into an airplane, and Jules ran for cover under Torn's desk.

Loor giggled. "What is this...?" She asked, looking about as the random paper shreds on the ground.

"Uh... the shredder on the trash can is broken?" Torn gave, trying to cover himself.

Loor gave him a sly look, taking one of the junk papers and walking over to the trashcan, putting it to the shredder.

With a little _wirr,_ the paper ran through, little lines coming out the other side. "Seems to be working now." She gave, watching Torn turn slightly red, embarrassed. "And where's the muse?"

Jules at once jumped onto the desk, making herself present and accounted for.

"Torn, you should know better than to bring animals to work." Loor teased, leaning on his desk while petting the feline.

"She didn't want to stay home." He said, leaning back in his chair. He watched as Jules got up onto her hinds again, putting her front paws on Loor's arm to inspect Lynn.

"You shouldn't have her here Torn." Loor smirked. "I mean, if you're so bored, why don't you just call a dating service or something?" It was a well-placed jab, one that she knew Torn was likely to ignore.

He shrugged it off. "Because I'm not desperate."

Loor rolled her eyes, shrugging. "Well listen, I've got a new buddy in town that I'd like you to meet. I'll take Jules home, grab Jakkie-boy, and we can all meet up at Daxter's place for lunch."

Torn opened his mouth to protest, but Loor cut him off.

"Oh, sure, you can skip out, but what do you got that's better to do? _Paperwork?_" She snickered. "It's your choice buddy. C'mon Jules."

Jules jumped up and put herself around Loor's shoulders, as if she knew as much as the other female in the room. When Loor left, she left a dumbstruck Torn at his desk with his mouth slightly open.

She had a new buddy in town? Since when did Loor go making new friends ever since her classes for pre-labor? And an invitation to lunch? And why was Loor so smiley and happy?

He sighed, looking at the half done paper airplane on his desk, and unfolded it to run it through the shredder. What would be the point of going to lunch to meet someone new? He didn't like new people, Loor knew that. And she hadn't been so teasing about it, which meant she wasn't trying to set him up, just give him another person to talk to.

But...

He couldn't come up with another excuse not to go, and got up from his chair after clocking on his computer that he was going for a lunch break.

Lunch couldn't hurt, right?

Right.


	13. Out To Lunch

Welcome back everyone. Obviously, everything worked out. Here's the next chapter!

**No Ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Sammich  
****Out To Lunch**

Alex smirked at Loor once she was dressed. "That was pretty good." They were back at Loor's place for Jules to change into Alex, put her clothes on, and for Loor to go and wake Jak so they could all go to lunch.

"What?" Loor asked innocently.

"You cornered him." Alex gave back. "And you still gave him a choice."

"I just know how to work him, not that it's an easy thing. I've known him for a year and some, so you get to understanding it." As saying this, she was setting Lynn down on one of the old bunks that had been kept in the room for the sake of the old days in the underground. Lynn, who was awake now, wiggled a little bit once she was on her back, and Loor giggled as she managed to roll over.

"It was still pretty cool. But... why?"

"Why what?" Loor asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why do you want him to meet me?"

Loor smirked. "I understand his issues with Ashelin, I really do, but that boy needs something to bring him back to earth. I'm not saying you should be shooting for a relationship, but he needs a new lady friend who's not taken to bring his perspective back into the right areas."

"Do you know what happened between them?" Alex asked, going over to where Lynn had rolled back onto her back and was waving her arms randomly at the bunk above her.

"I'm a tad fuzzy on the details of what happened romantically, but I know where he lost his respect for her."

"What happened?"

Loor sighed, giving a finger to Lynn for the baby to grip and suck on. "You remember that there was a metal head attack on Samos's old hut, right? In dead town? The Baron pulled back and left everyone outside the new barrier to die..." Loor lowered her head. "Torn had known that it was a suicide attack. All of the commanding forces did, and where he choose to stay and fight by the doomed people... Ashelin ran with the others. When Torn saw that, he had no other reason left to stay in the Guard, and when the Shadow came and saved everyone, he didn't go back."

"He didn't trust her anymore?" Alex asked, watching as Lynn tried lifting her feet up into the air.

"He didn't trust her to begin with. Then, he just didn't want to be involved anymore. The real truth of why they were together in the first place was that they were scared. The Guard was one of the worst places in the world to grow up, and they were just clinging to each other for the same reason that everyone else was; fear. To be able to hold onto something solid feels good."

"Sad..."

"Yeah, I know. Now, during the adventures that we've all had together, those two get along okay. I guess those crunch times make Torn remember that they were okay with each other, maybe even a little sweet together, but the second it's all over it's like all the bad stuff comes back. I think he just needs a new measuring stick."

"You mean...?" Alex was a little confused when Loor got like this. Her friend could have been a therapist if she wanted to be, but Loor was more of one to administer her emotional cures for free. The great thing was that Loor could explain a problem, and then solve it, so everyone understood what was to happen. Alex was just getting to understand one thing; she was gonna be the cure.

"I mean that Torn has known very few women in his life. He had issues meeting new people and even more trouble when it comes to making new friends. Ashelin's cons are outweighing the pros in his mind because he doesn't know anyone else. He's holding her to high expectations, and the only way to lower them is to broaden his horizons. And hey, if he falls for someone else, that's fine. Either Ashelin will get her way or he'll get enough brass to shove it in her face that he's not interested."

"And when did this plan hatch in your brain?" Alex asked.

"When I was finding my bra last night."

"Okay... I didn't need to know that."

"You asked."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to be so blunt."

Loor worked her finger away from her daughter, getting up. "Would you watch her? I got to go and get Jak. Just... make sure she doesn't fall off."

Alex nodded, and Loor left her with Lynn. Gently, Alex turned the baby to face her and smiled. "Hi there."

The baby's violet eyes tracked the brown haired teenager, and a smile spread on her face, mirroring Alex. Alex wondered how Lynn was going to grow up. Sure, Loor was Miss Psychology, but Jak was more than likely to be a supportive and thus influencing father. Would she pick up the anger problems that both parents had? Would she pick up racing, which was another common interest? She'd be growing up in a life of fame, what of that?

What of the eco that had to be in the mix?

Heh, if only Alex knew how much sleep Loor had lost over that very issue.

Lynn started wiggling again, cooing and looking for something to grab. Alex supplied her hand, and Lynn grabbed her ring finger to start sucking on it. Usually, Alex would be disgusted, but she was okay with it in this case for some reason.

Loor came back down the stairs with a diaper bag over her shoulder and a big smile on her face. "He's coming. Now we just gotta count on Torn not refusing my offer due to his curiosity and conscious." She leaned over, to pick up Lynn. "I hope Dax doesn't mind that I'm bringing a few extras to my usual lunch break."

Alex felt a little shifty as she got up to follow Loor.

She wasn't too good at meeting new people either.

* * *

Torn had beaten everyone to Dax's place, and though Daxter wasn't too happy to see him, the ottsel was not one to turn down business. He had picked a booth, relaxed for a while, ordered a drink, and was about to quit and just leave when Loor with Lynn, Jak, and a new person he didn't know walked in.

She looked to be older than both Jak and Loor, the young twenties at the least, with brown hair and brown eyes. She had fairly pale skin, and wore a white tube top with black add-on sleeves and bright green bra straps showing from under the top. Along with that, she wore black bondage jeans with chains included, and a pair of combat boots.

Her eyes had a sparking quality, like she had way more energy than she needed.

At once, when she looked at him, she grinned like she knew him.

He smiled back, waving.

Loor snickered as she gave an overzealous wave, practically bouncing up and down. Loor led the group over, and Jak sat on Torn's side of the booth, the girls taking the other side. "Torn," Loor greeted. "This is Alex."

Torn reached his hand over the table. "Nice to meet you..." He gave, feeling a little strange.

Alex grabbed his hand and started shaking it up and down really fast, then taking hers back, not saying a thing yet.

Loor rolled her eyes. "Alex is moving here." She gave, trying to prod her friend into conversation.

"Really?" Torn gave, leaning back into his seat. "Where from?"

Alex turned slightly pink. Loor had not told her what to say, so she's play mute for a few more moments while Loor answered for her.

"Where I'm from." Loor said, smirking. "We've been good friends for a long time."

Torn nodded. Loor had never hold him where she was from, or to be more exact, _when_. All he knew is that she was rather secretive about it, and he respected that.

"Yeah." Alex agreed with Loor, smiling. "I came quite a long way, and I decided I didn't wanna make the trip back."

Jak snickered, watching Loor with a raised eyebrow that questioned if Loor was the only person with a natural talent for deception among her friends. Loor gave an innocent look back as Daxter scampered over to their table. It was funny to watch the ottsel, because he had something like a zip line set up by the bar to make it easy for him to get around. Basically, it was a cable track set up that went around the whole place with a platform attached that Daxter could jump onto, push into motion, and stop at will with a pull-cord break system.

"Loor, you're late!" The ottsel crowed, pulling the breaks on the zip line and handing out menus. "By an hour!"

"Dax, you know I can't hold a schedule." Loor gave back, taking one of the big cards. "Anyway, whether I come at one or two in the afternoon, what do you care as long as I come?"

"I worry. Every time you're late for lunch, I wonder if some psychopath is trying to take over the world again."

Torn rolled his eyes. "If some psychopath was trying to take over the world, I'm pretty sure Jak would let his shoulder ornament know."

Jak took the nudge and cuffed Torn in the shoulder. "Hey, he's got a family now. I can't bring him everywhere."

Alex took a menu from the ottsel. "Yeah, but so do you and Loor." She pointed out. "What are you gonna do, stand on the front lines with a baby carrier?"

Loor laughed slightly. "Not likely. Jak would probably run off and lock me in the house to make sure I didn't go doing anything endangering. Kinda like Kras city..."

Jak was grabbing his menu, and then glared at Loor. "Hey, I had good reason for keeping you on the sidelines."

Loor looked over at the ever so confused Alex. "The last adventure we all had, we were all called to Kras city for the reading of Krew's will."

Dax snorted. "Yeah, the last party that attend on Jak's invitation. The drinks were poisoned to make sure we'd race in the Kras grand championship. It was a slow poison and since we won the thing for the not so dearly departed fat ass, his people gave us the antidote."

Loor rolled her eyes. "I already knew I was pregnant with Lynn, and the drinks were wine, so I didn't touch the stuff. When Krew's will reviled that it was poisoned, I was really happy that I didn't get near it. Still, because I was with child, Jak wouldn't let me race."

Torn shook his head. "Probably because it would have caused your second miscarriage. Combat racing isn't that friendly."

Alex looked confused. "Second???"

Loor ruffled her friend's hair. "A story for another time."

Alex whined when Loor messed with her hair, and then finally paid attention to her menu. She was probably going to go for what she did last time, since she couldn't read the damn thing, and it would have been strange to admit that fact in front of Torn. Daxter zipped back to the bar with a push from Jak, and everyone focused on figuring out what they were gonna eat.

Loor put hers down first. "Jeez, I need to get him more stuff to expand the menu here. I know he's only got two cooks back there, but they can do more than your basic bar and grill menu."

"Not a fan?" Torn questioned.

"Not in the least. I like burgers and hot dogs as much as anyone else, but he needs to expand a bit more when the food shortage lets off."

"Food shortage...?" Alex was kinda confused, again.

"We still don't have a lot of land for growing food, Alex. I'll show you the agricultural section sometime soon, okay?" Loor was smiling at her friend again, reminding her that some questions were branching into the 'overly stupid' zones.

"At least they don't serve MREs..." Torn muttered.

Jak chuckled. "Or that crap we all ate while in the underground."

"See, civi life ain't all bad." Loor gave with a serious 'I told you so' tone.

"And yet you complain about bar and grill food." Torn pointed out.

"Yep, because were I'm from, we didn't have the issues that Haven does."

"But you've been living here for two years..." Alex muttered, trying to look like she was reading her menu, when she couldn't.

"One year." Loor corrected. "I can't really count the one I spent in a hospital."

This is when Daxter zipped back to see if everyone had decided. Loor shrugged it off saying, "The usual." Alex was just about as cryptic, saying that she'd have what she had the day before. Still, Dax somehow remembered whatever that had been and wrote it down on a little pad of paper he had brought with him. Jak, unlike Loor, had zero issues with the bar and grill setting and went for a burger, and Torn was just the same.

Loor rolled her eyes. Men.

Dax zipped off, and Lynn started fussing. Loor looked down at the child with a raised eyebrow, then took two hesitating sniffs with the over tuned nose she had gained from her darker ego.

"Oh... uh, Alex, move, someone needs a change." She muttered. Alex scooted out, and Loor quickly went to Dax at the bar, explaining that she needed to use the bathroom in the back. He let her past the counter, and Alex watched Loor slip into a hallway that she didn't even know was back there while scooting back into the seat.

Torn looked bored with the situation, and Jak was just relaxing. Alex looked between both guys, and then sat up in her spot, leaning over the table and poking Torn in the forehead. "Beep!"

Torn looked like he was breaking out of a trance, jumping slightly and ripping his head back. This, in turn, startled Jak, who started laughing as Torn crossed his eyes to stare at Alex's outstretched finger like it was an incoming bullet that had suddenly stopped moving.

Alex sat back in her seat and started laughing, grinning again at Torn.

Torn couldn't shake the feeling that he had met her somewhere before.


	14. Pleased to bite you?

And I return! MUHAHAHA!!

Oh, BTW, if any of you are Naruto fans and you need something new to read, I suggest checking out the fic Bakemono. I'm co-authoring it, and the other writer is none other than our good friend Fury. Make sure to review if you read it!

**I own nothing.**

OWTF!!

**Sammich  
****Pleased to... Bite You?**

"So what did you order?" Alex asked, looking at Loor as she came back, scooting out and getting up so that the raven-haired girl could sit down.

"A BLT, but they don't call it that here." She shrugged, sitting and scooting, bobbing Lynn as the baby started to doze again. "I don't know what animal the bacon comes from, and they have different names for the vegetables. What about you?"

"Same thing as yesterday; soup." Alex answered simply, sitting back down.

"Oh, the Haven equivalent of veggie beef." Loor then looked at the guys. Jak was smirking, and Torn looked violated. "What got into you two?"

"Torn got poked." Jak snickered.

"Nu-uh!" Alex gave. "He got beeped!"

Loor looked at Torn, and then grinned. "Poking causes pregnancy. I should know."

Alex started giggling, and Torn went out of the world of the violated face to just looking like he died and no one told him. Maybe it was just the face guys make when you say more than they wanted to hear.

Loor rolled her eyes. "Jak, hold the bundle of joy for a second." She said this while handing over Lynn. Jak took his daughter gently, and Loor leaned over the table to wave a hand in front of Torn's face. "Hello Mr. English solider! Anyone home? You can handle a few jabs, can't you?"

Torn suddenly snapped back to life, pushing Loor to sit back down. "I'm fine, dang it. People usually don't poke me."

"I didn't poke you!" Alex protested. "I beeped you! Like this!" Alex got up again, reaching her hand out to poke him in the forehead again, but he grabbed her hand.

"Beep denied." Torn said, relaxing back and holding her hand off.

Alex started whining, and Loor watched as she attempted to do the big innocent eyes to Torn, who rolled his eyes. Heh, expected from that guy, not able to take a joke. Finally, Alex got up and pulled her hand, and his, back, biting his knuckles. Torn just looked at her as she started to dig her teeth in, as if he didn't feel it. She didn't give in though, biting harder. After a few moments, Torn winced and let go, and she happily 'beeped' him again, sitting down, grinning.

This is the point when and actual human waitress came out of the back rooms to drop of everyone's order, cutting the chatter for a while. Loor ate quickly, as if it was her last meal, while Alex casually munched. Jak and Torn were also fast eaters, which was probably something that went along with military experience. When Loor finished, she took Lynn back from Jak, got Alex to let her out, and then sprung her plan on Torn.

"Hey, King Laryngitis." Loor gave, looking back. "I said I was gonna take Alex around the city so she could get to know the place today, but I got some stuff to do. Why don't you show her around? You've lived here longer than me, you're likely to know it better."

Torn gave a look at Loor, he himself getting up and getting ready to go. "But I have to get ba--"

Loor snorted at him. "Dude, it's almost three. Isn't that when you can clock out at earliest? I think it would be a bit more fun taking a newbie sightseeing than sit in an office running papers through a shredder."

Loor had done it again. She'd cornered Torn, but made it look like he still had a choice. Correction, he did have a choice, but she pointed out how dumb it was.

After a few moments, Torn sighed and nodded. "Fine."

Loor grinned, and Alex got up as she finished eating. "Alrighty then. Alex, don't be too mean to him." She waved as Jak put a hand on her shoulder, a reminder that they should get moving. "See you guys."

It was a few second after the couple and the baby left that Alex noticed that Loor had left her money card on the table with the bill. Crafty. Using it, Alex paid for lunch while Torn went to go and clock out at FL HQ. When he came back, Alex was waiting for him, having pocketed Loor's card.

The two walked outside, and Torn shrugged while looking around. "Was there anything in the city that you wanted to see...?"

She thought about it for a few seconds. "Um... Wait, Loor mentioned the new section... people have been calling it Old Haven?"

"Oh, sure." He turned on his heel, toward the Bazaar, walking a short distance. Nearby, near the wall of some building, was a two-person zoomer. Zoomers were practically public property, like bicycles in Japan, so Torn just saddled up and waited for Alex to get in. She did, sitting down and making the 'beep' sound again while smiling.

The smile disappeared when Torn started it up, switched into the upper zone, and floored it.

Alex was afraid of heights. At once, she started squealing at a range that was into the 'ear splitting' category.

Now, Torn had been through the military track, and he had trained a few squealers on flying aircraft. Guess what? NONE of them had a noise that loud or that high. He swore quietly, giving her a look that was somewhere between glaring and the 'ya gotta be kidding me' thing.

She had squished her eyes shut, hanging onto the sides of the zoomer for dear life, so she didn't catch that look.

Her face looked like a muse yowling because it had gotten wet. Snorting, he slowed down a little and went into the lower zone, only changing speeds because he had to dodge people. The second she felt the movement, she shut up and started bouncing in her seat, all happy.

She was bi-polar...

She suddenly turned to him. "Can I drive?!?!" She gave, almost matching the tone of her squeal.

"Uh... do you know how?" He questioned. Sure, she looked like she was twenty something, but she was acting like she was fifteen with a sugar high.

"Nope, but I still wanna drive!" She was grinning as she said this.

"You have issues." Torn muttered, focusing on the road while making the turn into the Bazaar section, taking the vehicle path through the section. He'd take that through to the new area of the Bazaar that connected with the renewed agricultural section, take a short path across New Haven into the slums, and go north into Old Haven.

"I know I do!" She gave, sounding like a child, still bouncing. "And I wanna drive!"

"It's rush hour right now, what if you hit someone?" He gestured out to the crowed pathway they themselves were traveling. It was bumper-to-bumper at sixty MPH.

She shrugged. "I donno."

He rolled his eyes. "Silly."

He kinda liked that.

The rest of the trip was fairly quiet and uneventful. Alex wasn't very talkative on her own once she calmed down, and once she was calm, she looked like she was either very sleepy or pissed with the world. It was like her eyes just... went dead. Wait a sec, why was Torn even looking at her eyes??? He was supposed to have his own eyes on the road!

Still, he found a strange familiarity when that smile dropped off of her face. There was a real person under that goofy energy. Wait, what if she was like him? Was that why Loor wanted him to meet Alex?? There were a lot of things that he could connect dots to, and one was that dormant look on her face. There were probably six hundred issues all battling for her attention under a mask of serene calm.

He growled and reminded himself that he should have been thinking about where they were going, not what the shit was going on in her head.

When they arrived at the border to the area that was dubbed Old Haven, Torn stopped the zoomer and got out. The second it stopped, Alex snapped back into her bouncy mood, jumping out of the vehicle, catching her foot on the edge of her seat, and nearly landing face first in the dirt. Thankfully, Torn's reflexes were still sharp from the old days, and he caught her to set her on her feet. It was then that Alex made the following observation.

"Holy wow, you're really tall!" She said, the energy coming back into her eyes, which Torn just noticed at this point were speckled with yellow, aside from their base of chocolate brown. "You're like a skyscraper!"

"Well... to tell the truth, you're kinda short." He pointed out.

"Nu-uh!" She poked him in the head for the third time that day. "I'm vertically challenged."

He put a hand on top of her head. "At five foot three?"

"Five foot _four._" She corrected, as if it was a horrid thing that he got it wrong. "What about you, Mr. Skyscraper?"

"Six one."

"Holy Jeez, you're tall!"

"No," He gave back with a slight smirk. "I'm vertically blessed."

She stared at him for a second, and started giggling. He ruffled her hair, causing her to whine again, and then started to lead her into Old Haven. It used to be Dead Town, but the wall had been busted to open up the section of the city after it had gotten new walls and renovated for human life. Now, it was a huge residential and service area.

The first thing the couple encountered with a large fountain that had been built in memorial to all those who had died in the metal head and KG wars. The centerpiece was a figure of a faceless man and woman. The man stood tall, looking forward, holding a banner with the resistance symbol of the underground, one that the FL adopted, and the woman was crouched looking back, loading a gun. Strangely enough, the pole for the banner had various holes that water arcing out, and the gun shot a stream high into the air to splash down into the pool below.

Alex made a 'ooh' sound, and then ran up to the edge to look into the water and splash her hands. "It's cool!" She snickered as Torn walked up.

"It's a symbol of everyone that died in the years of war." Torn informed her.

"I meant the water..." She said, glaring and splashing him.

"Hey!" He jumped slightly. The water was rather cool, if you must use the word. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry." She was still smiling, and then she looked back up at the figures. "I guess this city... was defined by the wars, huh?" She asked, her voice dropping out of the kiddy tone.

"A bit. It's changed a lot of lives."

Alex gave a rueful sigh, thinking of Loor. "No kidding."

"Old Haven is a symbol of recovery. It's for new homes and providing the needs of those who will live there."

"For families." She added in, standing up. "Right?"

Torn started looking around at the copious amount of buildings in the area. To the north, ahead of them, were various entertainment places. Arcades, shops, even a theater, were thriving. To the east, or to the right of them, were various services; grocery stores, fast food, restaurants, general stores, health and fitness clubs, a real hospital, local authorities besides the military (police), and other things that a city needed to serve it's people; including the first school to be built since the time of the Baron's rule. To the left, or the west, was where everyone was living; apartment buildings for the low-income family.

He nodded. "That's the idea. This place will get a little more fancy as the economy recovers from--"

"The war?" She cut him off, finishing his sentence. She was right in what he was going to say too. "Everything you say is centered around it. Can't you just forget about it for a few seconds? Loor's been talking nonstop about it too."

"With what it did to her, I don't blame her." He sat down on the edge of the fountain, sighing. "And I was born during the that war. It's all I've ever known."

"Well..." Alex got up just as he sat down. "Then it's time to learn something new! I'm adjusting to this place, and you're getting used to civi life. Let's just go find something random to do!"

He looked up at her from where he was sitting, and watched as she extended a hand to help him up.

He felt so strange taking that hand, in a good way.

* * *

When Torn got home that night, he felt something he hadn't felt in a very long time. He felt tired. Not the 'I need sleep' tired. The 'I actually had a fun and eventful day' tired. He let himself into his apartment, found Jules sleeping on the end of his bed, dropped his key card on his nightstand, and woke the muse.

Said muse yawned when he woke her by rubbing a hand down her back, stretching and looking up at him with red eyes. "Hey." He smiled slightly, sitting on the bed next to where she had curled up. "I know I'm late, don't hate me for it."

When he said late, he meant it. Usually, he left work at eight and came straight home. It was ten, two hours later than when he usually came home. Jules seemed to shrug, getting up as he lay back, setting herself up on his stomach. At once, her eyes expressed curiosity, tail twitching and ears forward.

He smirked. "Don't worry, nothing really happened. Loor introduced me to a friend of hers that's moving to Haven. Her name is Alex."

Jules eyes flecked to the big smile that Torn had been wearing since he had walked into the apartment, and one ear dropping down to the side questioned him on why he was two hours late in getting home. Normally, that smile was rather rare, and somehow the muse knew it was.

"Yeah, I know." He shrugged, petting her again. "Loor invited me out to lunch, as you know, and set me and her friend up behind my back. I was supposed to show her around the city so she'd know where stuff was, and... well, she got a little weird on what I center my life on. Next thing I know, we're browsing the entertainment section of Old Haven."

She had started purring, putting her head down on his chest, both ears dropping in a relaxed and yet intent posture.

"It felt really strange, to tell the truth. I have all sorts of issues with people. I get nervous around new faces, and she was just... bam! In my face. She didn't care that I was shifty or nervous. One second we were talking about the effects of the war on the various people in the city, and the next she's dragging me into a movie theater." He paused. "I like that."

One ear twitched forward, and her tail started waving back and forth.

Torn took the signal to go on. "After that, we went to go eat at a place that I didn't even know. It was mainly seafood, which is pretty much Haven's only surplus food item, but it was good. I know she acts like a goof, but... she has her moments."

Jules shifted, almost as if she was nervous to hear what he had to say.

"Sometimes she gets all serious, almost angry. I don't think she's hiding anything, but there is another person that I wouldn't mind getting to know under the goofy thing." He chuckled. "It's funny. When she's being a goof, she's a lot like you. On the way out of the theater, she walked into a wall."

She seemed to giggle, nuzzling under his neck, looking for some extra attention. Still, she was asking a question.

"See her tomorrow...? I donno. How am I supposed to know how she felt about the outing?'

Jules almost felt like what she was doing was cheating. Almost.

Torn didn't notice that she wasn't hungry that night.


	15. Friendly Fire

New chapter!! Yay! My god, I had to keep going back to VoW for some of the stuff with Loor to make sure that no one would come in going :OMGZ, you got your own shit wrong! Meh, oh well.

Enjoy.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Sammich  
****Friendly Fire**

Jules had woken up at one AM for no apparent reason.

Okay, there was a reason; she had rolled off the bed. She landed onto the floor with a yelp, getting shocked out of the world of sleep, and managed to her paws with the simple plan of getting up to the bed and going to sleep again. She would have done so if not for her nose informing her of something.

Jules had become accustomed to various smells in her life. People, for one. Everyone had his or her own scent. Torn, for instance, smelt like sulfur and ink, probably from his military life and the tattoos in his skin. Loor had the smell of fresh pine following her around, gasoline, and something sharp that had to be eco. Jak, much like her, had ocean water in with smelling like eco and a racetrack. But still, that was not the scent she was picking up. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she turned to face the kitchen.

The smell was the dank streets of the slums and something else that made her think of a feline. At once, she started for the kitchen, not noticing the dark with her enhanced sight. To tell the truth, to her, it was like afternoon light, and full daylight where moonlight was streaming in.

_"Evening, **Mon Cheri.**" _

Jules froze in the moonlight, looking up.

When Torn had gotten home, he had neglected everything that he usually did in a night. He was saving his shower till the next morning, hadn't fed the muse, and he hadn't shut the window that he had left open for her during the day.

In that window, of all people and muses, was Corky.

_"Corky!" _Jules gave a musey squeal, jumping up onto the counter. _"How did you find me?"_

_"How did you get to be so articulate?"_ He returned, smirking. _"I already knew you were in this building, and from there, you just follow your nose." _He brushed past her, jumping down from the windowsill. _"Speaking of, when was the last time you cleaned yourself?" _

_"Four days ago."_ A truthful response. The last time she had cleaned herself, she was at home.

_"Lovely. So where's the owner?"_

_"The what...?"_

_"You're living in a human's house, so obviously you're a pet. Who's feeding you?"_

She gave Corky a look, then sighed, jumping down from the counter and pointing, with her nose, into the bedroom.

Corky walked up, going into the room and hopping up onto the bed, looking at Torn with his ears forward, interested.

Alex felt strangely violated as the male muse sat down where she had been sleeping, his tail bobbing back and forth. _"You have a thing for famous people, don't you?" _

_"He found me."_ Jules protested, getting up onto the bed.

_"Oh, so this is the man who broke Sara's heart?" _He started purring, looking around. Jules noticed that the yellow of his paws seemed to glow with a soft light. _"And here I thought you'd just run again after that guy got rid of the cans."_

_"You're glowing."_

_"I'm quite aware, my lady. Haven't you ever been happy before?" _

_"I don't glow." _

Corky got up to look at her, and then sat again, facing her. _"You're yet to tell me your name."_

_"Jules."_

_"Ah, Jules. Quite pretty. Anyway, Jules, I want you to close your eyes and think of something you find funny, or something that made you very happy once."_

Slowly, she obeyed, shutting her bright red eyes and bowing her head. Something that made her happy? She searched her memories for such a thing, but she had issues with finding something that would make her feel happy.

The thought of sitting in the theater with Torn crossed her mind.

_"Ah, see, you do glow."_

She opened her eyes to look down at her paws. True enough, they had taken on a soft red luminance. _"I glow!" _She squealed, jumping around suddenly. _"I'm a sparkly kitty!!!" _

Corky watched her with a confused and befuddled look, one ear off to the side and twitching. _"You are very strange, Jules."_

_"I know!" _She said this while landing in front of him, her paws bright in her glee. _"I love it!"_

_"You act like you were born yesterday." _

She shook her head. She could have been with how little she knew. _"So why are you here?"_

He got up again, jumping down from the bed and wondering the apartment. She followed him of course. She didn't quite trust him. _"I just wanted to check up on the beautiful muse that I've never been able to see for more than twenty minuets at a time. I usually don't hang with pets, but I'm willing to make an exception." _

Jules gave a slight growl at his arrogance. _"Are you sure you're not just here to steal food?"_

_"**Mon Cheri!** I'm appalled that you would accuse me of such!" _

_"You're a stray. What am I supposed to think?"_

Corky turned on her, getting into a stalking posture. _"So what, is a stray not good enough for you? Am I just riff raff to a pet?" _

Jules backed up a step. _"That's not what I meant at all! I just meant that most strays go begging for food and such when it comes to humans!"_

He snorted, sticking his tail up in the air and walking past her, toward the window. _"The nerve. Begging? I'm not some urchin!" _

She gave a slight whine of dismay, jumping in front of him with wide eyes. _"What is your problem??? I'm just stating what I expected, not what I expected of you. Why the hell are you getting all huffy, Corky? First, you invite yourself in, talking about how you miss me, and then you walk out like I've committed a crime!"_

Corky's eyes, navy blue, glowed slightly as he stopped and sat down. _"I'm just messing with you, Jules. Can't you take a joke?"_

Corky would find himself limping and bleeding from the ear as he made his way back down the fire escape, the window somehow closing behind him.

* * *

"So..." Loor yawned, sitting in Torn's apartment, waiting outside the bathroom for Alex to change into her clothes after changing back. "How'd it go last night? Did you get back before him and everything?"

"Yeah. I felt kinda bad, just telling him that I had to get home and leaving him at the fountain in Old Haven, but I didn't have much of a choice."

Loor snickered. "It's almost like Cinderella, except you don't change back at midnight."

"Oh my _gosh!_ That would be _so_ scary if I did!" Alex made a funny little noise. "And things would get even more complicated! At least I know he enjoyed himself."

"How would you know that?"

"Torn talks to his pets, and I doubt he'd lie to his pet muse."

Loor snickered. "Good point. So, you wanna go visit him?"

"Sure." Alex smirked. "He still doesn't know how much I enjoyed myself."

"By the way, what did you guys do that took till ten at night?"

"Well, we went to a movie and dinner."

"You went on a date?"

"Well..." Loor could see, in her mind's eye, Alex squinching up her face in thought. "I don't really know. I mean, it was an accident. It just... happened."

"You were a goof the whole time, weren't you?"

"Nu-uh!" Alex giggled. "Okay... maybe."

Finally, Alex came out of the bathroom, dressed in the outfit she had bought at Ammo and Obis. Loor was dressed as she usually was these days, and looked to have left Lynn with Jak. "By the way," Alex smirked, holding something out to Loor. "Here's your money card. It was still in my pocket."

"Oh, thanks, I almost forgot about it. Alright, we're gonna go visit Torn, and then I've got a friend I want you to meet."

"Oh, really?" Alex got a small smile. "Anyone I know?"

"Nope. You don't know him, I'm sure."

Both girls turned to leave the apartment, and got outside in silence. It was when Loor started leading the way over to FL HQ that Alex had to ask a few questions. "Hey, Loor, yesterday... something was said about a miscarriage..."

Loor winced, looking back at her friend. "That's not a story I like to share, Alex."

"I'm your friend. You're telling."

Loor shook her head, smirking. "Alright, you've played Jak III, I assume?"

"Out of worry, yeah. It took me forever to beat it."

"Good. Well, you know the scene where Errol taunts Jak before leaving to the Dark Maker ship near the end?"

"Yeah! Did you see that?"

"I think saying that I saw it would be an understatement. Basically, I got pissed and tried to attack Errol, and he grabbed Jak as a human shield. After that, I threw my weapon aside and tackled the cyborg, who let Jak go to grab me. He knocked me out, and I woke up on that ship..." Loor focused on her boots. "Errol torture me, pay back for all the stuff that had happened between us. Lyra had nearly killed him once, I've punched him in the face, and tripped him up at the cost of a broken foot. After he took enough ego beatings, and then Jak killed him, he wanted to kill something bad, but he made a point of going slow with me. He used eco to do it too."

"Wow..." Alex muttered. "That had to hurt."

"I can't put it into words. Still, before that, I knew I was pregnant. The e-"

"You and Jak were already having sex!!?"

"You don't have to yell it at the top of your lungs in the middle of a city, Alex!" Loor snapped, glaring at her friend. "And... yeah. It was a long time coming too. Anyway, the eco had caused the unborn to mutate, and killed it. I had passed out after a while, and when I woke up, I felt like I had been to hell and back and had a lovely scar from the removal of the dead infant."

Alex stared at Loor for several seconds, and then started gushing. "That's so sad!!"

Loor shook her head. "Yeah. I know... but at least me and Jak have Lynn now. I can almost say it's fun having the itty-bit around. Still, I already know that eco effected her."

"How do you know that?"

"She cries in the middle of the night for no reason, Alex. She'll go on sobbing for hours on end, like she's been horribly frightened, and I know she's scared because I can smell it. From there... Eco has a buzz that it adds to the air... I can feel that buzz when I touch her skin. It's there. If me and Jak ever have a second child, I'm going to make it so that I have the least amount of eco in my body that I'm capable of without killing myself. Sure, I tried to purge myself this time around, but I kept enough in me to continue feeling strong every day. If... feeling weak every day for nine months is what it takes to have a healthy baby that won't be haunted by nightmares from an alter ego, so be it."

Alex snickered. "And you never wanted to be a mom."

"Jak had a way of changing my mind." Loor grinned. "Not to mention he doesn't believe in birth control."

"Really?" Alex looked minorly scared. "Like, what does he say...?"

"He just doesn't like the idea of wearing a rubber sleeve during sex, and I don't like taking pills, and I hate needles."

"Well, you're up shit creek without a paddle."

Loor shrugged. "I think I'll live with it. I mean, I know the second I stop nursing and my period comes back that it'll be no time before I'm pregnant again. It's just the way it works. And I wouldn't really mind having two little ones. After that, I might start taking contraceptives. Depends on how I feel about going for three."

Alex nodded, thinking. "But... I thought you'd like... start dying if you didn't have any contact with eco? How does that work?"

Loor laughed quietly, indicating something on the left side of her neck. They looked like two purple gems, both with a dim sparkle. "Apparently, when Dark realized that my death would bring about Lyra's, he got protective. He somehow made this addition when he bit me once. Those are little eco crystals, and hold onto just enough to make sure I won't have to worry about an eco related death again; ever." She smirked. "And Jak has a bite to match."

"Like weird vampires..." Alex giggled, and then stopped to look up.

They had arrived at FL HQ, where they would see Torn.

Alex was a little nervous to face him. What if she froze? Or started tripping over her words? Or worse, started tripping over herself?

Loor didn't make it any better. Once they got outside his office, Loor leaned on the wall by the door. "Go ahead."

"What??" Alex gave in a hushed squeal. "I thought you were coming with me."

"Nope. What happened last night is classified as a date, and thus the follow-up visit must look like your idea, and it must look like you came alone, or you'll loose him. I'll walk in after you got some patter going, alright?"

Alex glared at Loor for a second. "I hate you."

"I know."


	16. The Boys

Alright everyone, here is the new chapter! I know, yay, right? Of course it's yay!

Enjoy…. MUAHAHAHAHAA….

**I don't own.**

OWTF!!

**Sammich  
****The Boys**

Loor was grinning to herself as Alex finally entered Torn's office, staying outside to listen to her friend trying not to make a fool of herself. Even on her lower eco level, Loor retained her heightened senses, so she could hear everything going on in that office, even through the closed door. She could hear Torn's chair move as he looked up, Alex's heart racing, and the fact that her breathing had picked up.

Loor snickered. "Say something..." She muttered, rolling her eyes.

Inside the office, Alex was heard; "Uh... Hi."

"Hey." Torn answered back. "Sleep well last night?"

"Um... yeah. You?"

"Pretty well. I have a pet at home that got noisy in the middle of the night."

Loor was struck by surprise. Was Torn actually sounding loose? Since when did he go beyond yes and no?

"You have a pet?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. It's a muse. She's kinda strange, but a good pet."

"Aww, that's cute. What's her name?"

Loor smirked. "She's good at playing dumb..."

"Jules." Torn gave quickly.

There was a slight silence.

Loor shook her head. "Throw him a bone." She coached, though she assumed that Alex couldn't hear her.

On the other hand, if that was the case, Alex was a psychic. "I had a lot of fun last night." Alex said to him. "I mean, it's been a really long time since I've gone anywhere with anyone, so it was good to get out, and I had a great time."

Loor listened to the sound of Alex's heart throbbing in her chest, seeing as the girl was scared that Torn was going to laugh at her or something. Instead, said tattooed wonder probably smiled. Loor had no idea, since she couldn't see him, but from his tone she was pretty sure he was. "I did too... You're not the only one who hasn't dated in a while." Then... "If you wanted, we could hang out again tonight."

Alex's heartbeat went completely on the fritz. Loor chose this moment to walk in, smirking as Alex jumped and squealed, and the smile that _had_ been on Torn's face dropped clear off in two seconds flat. "Hey there. Alex, I didn't know you'd be visiting Torn."

Alex gave a funny look to her friend, and then got it, nodding and playing along. "I guess I forgot to tell you..."

Loor then looked over at Torn. "What up, King Laryngitis?"

Torn growled. "Bite me."

"Whoa!" Loor snickered. "Someone's a little more active today. Most of the time, you just glare at me." Loor then looked over at Alex. "We got to get going though. A friend of mine is moving back into the city, and I want him to meet Alex."

"He's my friend too, Loor." Torn muttered, sighing and leaning back. Loor assumed that he was hoping that Alex could have hung around for a little while.

"I know, but you're so busy working that you can't go visit him, it seems."

"If that candy-ass wants to see me, he'll come here."

Alex looked royally befuddled at this exchange, and Loor grinned, turning to leave again. The second the raven-haired girl was outside the door, Alex took her chance. "Torn, about tonight... I'd love to." She then smirked. "Same place I left you last night?"

"I'm still waiting for an explanation on why you had to leave so fast." He then smiled back. "Sure. Say... six?"

"Great." Alex nodded, and then turned tail to run. The moment they were out of the building, Loor started laughing her ass off.

"What?!" Alex squealed, looking at her friend.

"You are priceless Alex!" Loor shook her head. "One night and you're setting up dates with him!"

"It's not a date! We're just going to hang out."

"Sure, gal. Listen, we got to start thinking about this seriously though. You're gonna be staying here now, I'm going to have to get you into the system. Ashelin should be easy to talk to about that, but you're going to have to find work and a place to live."

"I have a place to live." Alex gave back curtly.

"No, you have a patch." Loor gave a look to Alex. "You can't be his friend by day and his pet by night. It's easy to get yourself an apartment in Old Haven, and there's plenty of jobs."

"But I haven't been through school here." Alex gave. "Where could I go...?"

Loor gave a look to her friend. "Anywhere you want. You have to remember that both myself, Fury, and just about everyone else you know so far, are famous. Name the place and I'd be able to get you in on a recommendation. Now, what kind of stuff would you be looking into...?"

Alex didn't have to think for long. "Animals!" She gave with a big grin. Loor had been expecting such. Alex had always liked animals. From the many dogs she had at home, (and cats) to her instant love for just about any fuzzy creature, Alex was an animal person.

"I'll look into it, but we're almost there."

Loor was right. They had come back to the apartment building that Torn was living in, but instead of going to the fifth floor where the tattooed wonder lived, they went to the forth floor, and Loor knocked on a door after consulting a piece of paper.

Alex was slightly surprised at the guy who answered the door. He was tall, much like our buddy Torn, but a bit younger, still in his teenage years. He had big puppy dog brown eyes, dark tan skin, and platinum blond hair that was kept back in a long pony. The guy opened the door, took one look at Loor, and gave a great big smile that was positively dazzling.

The one sour note was that his skin was also covered in KG tattoos.

"Hon!" The boy greeted in a airy and smooth voice. "How ya doin'?"

"Good." Loor gave back before looking over to Alex. "Alex, this is my buddy Ryan. He was exiled into the wasteland when the Baron was overthrown because he was still stuck in the guard. It was only recently that we managed to get him a good lawyer so he could come back."

Alex gave one look to Ryan, and glomped him.

"Whoa!" Ryan gasped. "You're hyper. Take it easy hon, you're breaking' my ribs!"

Alex would have said the same when Ryan returned the hug, had she been able to speak. Ryan had a pretty tight grip. Once put down, she gave a whine. "Wowzers, is everyone in this city so tall???"

"Not really." Ryan answered. "Just most of us military types are." He then lowered his voice with a joking tone. "I think the Guard gave us all growth drugs."

Loor snickered. "You and the rest of the world. Where's Mikey?"

"He got stopped by an old friend on the way home from lunch." Ryan shrugged. "He's on his way." He then looked back at Alex. "So, when did you get here?"

"Five days ago." Alex answered back, shrugging.

"I'm living with me for now." Loor stated.

"Well, if you ever need another place to stay, the door here is always open." Ryan said this with a big smile. "Speaking of, why are you two still standing at the door? Come in, sit down! Make yourselves comfortable!"

The girls did as bidden, going into the apartment and finding it to be a lot like Torn's, only it had a little more of a homely feel too it. The living room had some extra furniture and a few stands with pictures of Ryan and some of his friends. While Loor sprawled herself on a couch, Alex picked up one of the pictures, looking at it with interest. It was just two people; Ryan and Torn. It didn't look that old either. Torn was standing with a somewhat peeved look on his face, while Ryan was giving the guy bunny ears and hugging him.

Ryan was looking at the picture over her shoulder. Or, to be more accurate to the height difference, over her head. "That's Torn." He said softly. "Good friend of mine. He lives upstairs."

Alex nodded. "I know. Loor's already introduced me to him."

He nodded, and then chuckled. "Not to be rude, but has she also introduced you to a shower by any chance?"

Loor laughed. "I guess I kinda forgot about hygiene in getting her around to meet everyone. On the other hand, she has a date tonight, so a bath would be good."

"Oh!" Ryan smiled again. "With who?" The voice he gave made Alex think of one of the girls at school who'd ask for all the juicy details.

"The other guy in that picture she just put down." Loor said with a vague tone.

"She got a date with _that_ tight assed bitch?" He yelped, almost jumping up and down. "Oh my god, he's dating again?? I thought he had just gone pure for the rest of his life!"

Alex gave a look to the blond in the room with wide eyes and a risen eyebrow. "Uh... yeah, we went out last night."

"I am _so_ calling him about this tomorrow morning!" Ryan then grabbed Alex in a hug before pulling away to the sound of someone knocking on the door. "Oh, that's got to be Mikey! One second."

Alex fell onto the couch, giving Loor the 'you've got to be kidding me' look. Loor just shrugged back, giggling, before looking over the back of the couch to watch Ryan open the front door and greet a dark haired boy. Said boy had shoulder length black hair that was shaggier than anything, a lip ring, a single ear pierced, dark clothing, and bondage pants much like Alex's; only with more chains.

"Hey hon." Ryan greeted as the boy came in. "I'm sorry, I should have left you with the extra key card."

"It's alright." The other guy said, shrugging it off. He was yet to notice the girls sitting on the couch, and quickly kissed Ryan on the lips.

Alex squealed at once, being a huge fan of the guy on guy relationship and a supporter of gay/bi sexual people. Loor just giggled.

The boy turned from Ryan with surprise, looking at the girls with a little shock. "Loor, you didn't tell me you were visiting. And who is your friend?"

"Mikey, you think Ryan can move in without me taking the time to drop a line? Oh, and this is Alex. She's just moved in too." Loor gave a slight smirk as Alex glared. It looked like she was getting tired of being introduced as a newbie.

Mikey walked over and leaned on the back of the couch to smile at Alex. "Good to meet you."

"Uh, Mikey, would it be okay if Alex used the shower real quick?" Ryan asked. "She's got something to do tonight, and I doubt that her and Loor want to make the run all the way back to her house."

"Oh sure." Mikey nodded. "No problem. It's just over there." He pointed it out for Alex, who got up and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind herself. After that, both boys sat down with Loor, who looked rather relaxed, her head back and her eyes closed.

"So, Loor, how's Lynn?" Ryan asked. "I just got your letter about her a few days ago."

"Pretty good." She sighed. "I'm just worried about how it's gonna be now."

"What do you mean?"

"Ryan," Loor opened her eyes. "You know what the Baron did to me and Jak. Heck, you were my operator. I know that the eco that effects both myself and her father is effecting her, and it has me worried."

That was true. Loor had learned that Ryan, of all people, was the very person who handled her when she was in the fortress from Artimus. The two had been battle buddies of sorts, and they had been the ones who had found Fury and Loor in the fortress, knocked out.

"There's something else that's got me worked up too." Loor sighed.

"What?" Mikey asked.

"Alex. She's got something going on guys, and it's eco related. I can feel the buzz too. It's not much, but it's there."

"What happened to her?" Ryan asked, his brown eyes wide in concern for his new friend.

"Some minor complications on her way to Haven that had to do with an old pet muse of mine and a small jolt of dark eco... and it's worrying me because she's recently started a relationship with Torn, and he doesn't know."

"Then why don't we tell him?" Mikey asked.

"Because... shape shifting applies. When this complication arouse, it changed her into a muse. Now she can go between the forms, but Torn already knows her muse form as his new pet Jules. I didn't really realize till yesterday how attached he is to said pet, and if things get serious between the couple, he's gonna haft to find out sometime."

"Whoa, I thought you said she was staying with you?" Ryan asked.

"Security, my friend. The door was still open when I was doing introductions. What if Torn had decided to get off early and actually dress up for tonight? We all know he takes the stairs when he goes to his room, and the stairwell isn't far from the door."

"You two should still tell Torn." Mikey butted in. "You know about his condition. The longer you let this go, the more likely it'll be that he'll snap."

"I understand that, Mike." Loor closed her eyes again, but her voice was still all business. "This is out of my hands though. She's become better friends with him through one night than I have in a year. If anyone is telling him anything, it's her."

"Friendship isn't going to save her Lauren." Ryan said seriously. He had dropped out of his usually happy voice and used Loor's real name, as if she wasn't paying attention to the real problem. "You've seen Torn that way before. Nothing stops him. It's almost like you and Jak, only-"

"I know." Loor cut him off. "And I know that this is Alex's choice now. It's not my fault that he's a berserker." She then opened one eye. "Speaking of that... is the FL still keeping an eye on him?"

"Day and night." Ryan answered. "And keeping a log of his attacks."

"Good. This should be sending Ashelin a message." Loor then got up. "Hey, you guys will take care of her till I get back, right?"

"Uh... sure." Mikey glanced at Ryan while saying this, both boys nodding. "Where are you going?"

"I think Alex needs a new outfit for the occasion."


	17. Getting To Know 'You'

Aw man, I forgot to write this forward because MSW was giving me issues. Oh well, you guys don't care about the spelling here, do you? I doubt it. And the chapter already went through spell check.

**I don't own it.**

OWTF!!

**Sammich  
****Getting to Know 'You'**

Alex felt nervous, wearing the outfit that Loor had picked out for her, walking towards the fountain in Old Haven. She wasn't really worried about the outfit, but whether or not Torn would show up. She knew they both had a good time the night before, but he got nervous about new people, didn't he? What if he got shaky and didn't show?

She smoothed out her shirt and hefted a sigh. If she made could make it, so could he. She was sure he was braver than her. Once she made it to the fountain, she sat down and crossed her legs. The outfit Loor had picked out was a simple one. It was a navy shirt with long sleeves and a set of black pants and black knee high zip-ups. With conservative usage of some light silver-blue make up, Alex looked rather nice. Well, that's what Loor told her. She felt so self-conscious. She kept playing with her hair, which had been tied back, by continuously taking it out and putting the hair tie back in after brushing it out with her fingers. When she wasn't doing that, she took note that her hands were shaking.

She snorted. She was an adult now, wasn't she? Yes, she was, as a technicality from fusing with Loor's cat. Bojo had been old for a cat, and the gap between her age and Bojo's age had been closed by bringing her to a twenty one year old body. Still, somewhere inside, she was still a fifteen-year-old girl. Adult hormones and thoughts, plus her young insecurities were torturing that fifteen-year-old mind.

"Sorry I'm late."

Alex was shocked out of her thoughts, looking up to see him. He looked to be fresh out of the shower and was wearing a clean white shirt and a set of normal black pants with his usual boots. The second she saw him, she stood up. "Oh, it's fine. I just got here." At that, she gave a nervous giggle.

He shrugged it off, smiling slightly to try and ease her a little bit. "So where are we going tonight?"

She shrugged, grinning. "I drug your vertically blessed ass to the theater last night, so you pick!"

He gave her a look, and then thought for a moment. Obviously, he had not been planning an event. It had been spontaneous the night before, so he expected it to be the same way that night. Alex didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that he had to think about it, and he smiled again after a few seconds. "I got an idea... c'mon."

Torn had simply turned, expecting Alex to follow him. What he didn't foresee was Alex slipping her hand into his, as if asking that if it was okay.

He grasped her hand, giving a small wink. She felt herself turn slightly pink, and allowed him to lead the way while disallowing silence.

"So wha'd ya do today?"

"Not much." He sighed, "Just the usual stuff. I don't know why they got me as a pen-pusher... and the pile never gets any smaller."

"Then why don't you find something else to do?" She then grinned. "Quick before you get a really big pile and it topples over and you die in an avalanche of paper-cuts!"

"What...?" He chuckled again, shaking his head. "I don't know. I'm just a creature of habit, I guess. What I'm doing works, and I'm right there when the action starts again."

"But you don't like it."

"Yeah, so? My whole life has been full of things I don't like."

She sighed, not noticing as they crossed from the slums to the industrial section. "But you should enjoy what you do for a living."

"For a living?" He shook his head again. "I could retire now and adopt seven kids, I'd still die with more money than what a person knows what to do with in a lifetime from all the hazard pay I got from both wars."

"Then why don't you?"

"Uh... firstly because I wouldn't know what to do with myself, and secondly because I don't think I'd make a great father."

"I wasn't asking about the adoption thing..." She giggled, squeezing his hand lightly. "But anyway, what would you rather be doing now, since you don't like sitting behind a desk?"

"Right now? Two things, really. One of 'em is I wanna be one of the patrols when we start expanding the walls on the east and west sides of the city. There are still metal heads out there, and running the ground missions... I can't say that it'd be fun, but it'd be a lot like the good old days."

"And the other?"

"You'll see." He smirked. He had led her into the port, and turned to the right, following the port strip while watching various neon lights turn on as the sun went down. Alex didn't question him as he took a turn into one of the establishments. She actually recognized the building. It was where the gun course was housed. Why were they going there?

She learned why rather quickly. It wasn't quite the building she remembered.

The space they entered into was a lot smaller, and a little softer on the eyes. There was a counter that someone was standing behind with a board behind them, blue carpet, and a thick door in the back left corner. It took Alex a moment to understand that this was no longer a military facility as it was in Jak III, but a commercially owned gun-training place.

The guy behind the counter recognized Torn at once. "Hey there big guy!" He gave with a smile. "Who's the little lady?"

"I'm not little!" Alex squealed, jumping up as if she could disprove this guy by doing so.

Torn rolled his eyes. "Just a friend. I'm taking her on the beginners course for twin pistols." He said this while handing over a card a lot like the money card that Loor had.

The guy behind the counter took the card and ran it through the scanner, looking at the hyper face that Alex was making. "You want the real thing or pop guns?"

Torn also glanced back at Alex before shrugging. "I think she can handle the real thing."

Alex? Handle a real gun? If Loor had been there, she would have made a crack about said hyper muse girl shooting herself in the foot.

"Alright Torn... don't forget your safety equipment." The dude behind the counter said this while handing Torn's card back along with two sets of safety goggles and earplugs along with two pistols and a little black cube about the size of a ring box. "One hour session. Enjoy yourselves."

Torn took the guns and the little cube, a loud buzzing sound emitting from the door as a signal that he could open it. Once past the door, Torn took a look at the little cube, which had a symbol on the top that Alex assumed was a number. The room they had just entered was a simple shooting range. There were several 'lanes' that a person could be at, and a card with the figure of a person on it to shoot at. The figure had rings on it, of course, with numbers for scoring. Torn walked down the lanes till he got to one that had the same symbol on it as the one on their cube.

"Here." Torn said this while handing her a set of goggles and some earplugs. Alex took them and put them on while looking around, and noticed that someone else walked into the room without any equipment. They stood away from the lanes, scanning the people there for something.

"Alex?" Torn had to raise his voice to get her attention through the ear plugs, but she looked over. He had put his own stuff on the floor, and was handing her the pistols. "We'll take turns."

It was obvious she had no idea what she was doing by how she held the guns. Her wrist was slumped, and her elbows were bent. Torn laughed lightly at how she held them, and tried to help her, but she'd squeak at him and shift away. Finally, he gave up and backed off. There was already a card out there, set at a twenty-foot distance for the beginning gunner. Alex tried to aim, but didn't know how.

Torn started full on laughing as she tried to shoot and found that the guns were not loaded. She started full on whining, and Torn came over to take the guns over to a loading station in the back for her.

"Why aren't they loaded?" She questioned, pulling out her earplugs.

"You think they'd give people loaded guns at the front counter?" Torn asked dryly.

"Good point..." She muttered. "Why were you trying to grab my arms before?"

"Your stance was wrong. I was trying to help."

"Ya gotta say something!" She chastised, 'beeping' him in the stomach.

He gave her a look when she did that, slamming the ammo clip into place and then lifting a hand to poke her in the forehead. "Beep." He gave, sounding rather flat.

"Nu-uh!" She giggled, poking him again. "Beep!" She sounded much more enthusiastic.

"I'm not really the beeping type..." He gave the guns back to her. "Careful, they're loaded now. If you're not used to loud noises, you should put the ear plugs back in."

She shrugged it off. "I can listen to Loor yelling. I think that's louder than your average gun-shot."

He chuckled while going back to their lane. "True." He then watched her as she took that silly stance again. "Alright, what you haft to do is, firstly, brace your legs."

"How do I do that?" She asked, looking at him.

He modeled it for her, standing with his feet apart and feet planted. "Like that." She quickly copied him, and he nodded, looking over at their scorecard. "Next, you want to straighten your arms, but keep your elbows soft to adsorb any kick you get. Straighten out your wrists, line up the shot, and squeeze the triggers."

Alex tried to do what she was told, but she felt really stupid. She wasn't sure if she was doing it right, and when she squeeze off the shots... let's just say that if there wasn't a barrier, the slugs would have been in different lanes. Torn chuckled, shaking his head and going behind her, taking one pistol from her and turning the safety on. "Alright... let's try one." He muttered, chuckling. Behind her, he took the hand that was still holding the gun in his own to steady her, adjusting her stance slightly by easing his other hand on her hip, and then taking her other hand to make her hold the bottom of the gun as a second support.

Alex could feel all of this, and her own heart throbbing against her rib cage.

"Does that feel a bit more comfortable?" He asked.

"A lot better..." She giggled, knowing that she was bright red with what was probably the dumbest smile in history. Still, it didn't feel nearly as weird as her previous stance.

"Line up your shot..." Torn directed, letting her move it so she could line it up, but still holding her steady with his hands. "And pull the trigger."

Alex squeezed, and the slug cut through the scorecard on the line between the second and third circle from the bull's eye.

"I hit something..." She gasped.

"Good job."

It took a while for Torn to let go of her. What could he say? It was a comfortable stance.

--------------------------------

"Torn?" Alex asked as they were leaving the place they had eaten at after hanging at the shooting range. She was looking back as they were walking away from the port and into the industrial section.

"Yeah?" He answered, looking down at her.

"Have you noticed that someone had been following us all night so far?"

Torn glanced back, and then looked forward again. "Oh, it's just my stalker."

"What?!" Alex yelped. "You have a stalker??"

"I'm kidding." He smirked to show it. "No. Ya see Alex, when you go through war, they have everyone involved in the actual fighting or anyone who saw any action see a therapist who says whether or not they're sane enough to go back to society, and fix them if they're not. I was a borderline case, so that got that jerk following me everywhere I go till I go home."

"Why?"

"In case I do something that makes me seem particularly insane. If I do, they send me to go talk to another therapist for a week and then deem me sane till I piss someone off."

"What happens then?"

"They repeat the process."

"Have you had to go in before...?"

"Yeah. A couple times."

"Really?"

"About once a month."

Alex started snickering. "It's like your period!" She teased.

He gave her a look, and then laughed quietly. "Yeah, I guess you could put it that way. Though lately they've been threatening to just cart me off to the loony bin."

She suddenly gasped like a little kid. "With the padded walls?? I wanna go too!!!"

"Sure." The laugh he had given before came back, slightly stronger. "I could use the company."

"By the way... where are we going now?"

"I wanted to show you something, but it's back in the slums."

"Oh okay." She then paused, as if something she had forgotten had just flashed past her mind again. "Wait a second, you never told me what the other thing you wanted to do was!"

"Huh?"

"Remember, we were talking about jobs you would rather than your current one?"

"Oh, yeah... It had to do with the shooting range, but it's kinda stupid."

"You already said you'd tell me!"

"I'm gonna! I was just warning you." He shrugged. "Every other night, they open up the lanes for kids to learn how to shoot, and they have a few instructors to help in teaching them. I thought it would be an interesting job because you're teaching kids a skill that they might actually use in the future, it's hands on, and I've trained a lot of people on using guns before, so I thought I'd be good at it..."

"So what's stopping you? You'd make a good teacher!"

"I don't know... I just had problems seeing myself working with kids."

"Why?"

"Not a lot of experience."

"Who cares?" She snipped. "If you want to do it, you want to do it, and that's that."

He gave her a look, and then smiled again. "Yeah... You're right. I'll look into it, see if they're hiring. Maybe..."

Alex watched as the look on his face became slightly distanced. At first, she thought he was thinking about what the change in work would do to his life, but that wasn't the case. They were in the slums, and they had just gotten to the place he was leading her to.

The building had once been a proud and menacing structure, but the red paint on it's walls had been sun-bleached to a faded orange, the metal bent and broken, and the gates busted in. The outside was peppered with bullets from old battles, and the inside was too dark to see into.

"This is where I grew up." Torn gave, as if trying to explain why he wanted to show this to her.

It was the fortress ruins.

Alex left Torn's side, walking up to the building with curiosity in her eyes. In a way, she knew it, and in another way she didn't know a single thing about it. After a few moments, she went back to him. It was obvious by his face that the place held a lot of memories for him.

He looked as if he wanted to tell her some of those memories, but wasn't quite sure what she wanted to hear.

They made eye contact, and he didn't have to say a thing. She went to hug him.

Torn returned the hug after a few moments.

"Beep."

The word didn't sound quite right in his voice, but they both started laughing anyway.


	18. Rememberance

New Chapter! YAY!!!

**I own nothing.**

OWTF!!

**Sammich  
****Remembrance**

Eleven at night, Torn was finally walking Alex home. He didn't let her run away that time, like she had the night before. He didn't ask about that either. Maybe she was a little embarrassed by the fact that she was still living with Loor while trying to get an apartment of her own. He didn't really care, walking with her. Since the tense moment at the fortress, they had just walked around the city aimlessly, telling jokes and talking about nothing. She amazed him in away, in how all over the place she could be, and then how she could make him laugh.

Yeah, Torn was capable of laughing, believe it or not.

They stopped walking when they got into the dead-end ally where Loor and Jak's house was hidden.

Alex giggled lightly in the silence, turning to him and smiling lightly. "I had a great time."

He returned the smile, hugging her. "Same here. It was fun."

At once, she nuzzled into him while wrapping her arms around him in return. It was warm, to tell the truth, and she enjoyed it. It made her feel all fuzzy and made little shocks of emotion twinge up her spine in a playful way. Somewhere, deep inside, the muse was purring and glowing. On the outside, she was wearing that silly smile again as her cheeks burnt from what she knew to be a deep red blush that was spreading all over.

Then he did something unexpected.

As he was letting go, pulling away, she felt him bend slightly and leave a clumsy contact of his lips on her cheek, making her go from blazing red to 'Rudolph' in the blush department. He seemed a little unsure of himself and nervous, but his voice didn't show it. "Same time tomorrow?"

She couldn't speak. She just squeaked and nodded.

He ruffled her hair and turned, a slight smirk on his face at how she reacted.

Alex stood like an idiot, staring at where he had been standing, dumbfounded.

"You certainly are the charmer, aren't you?"

Alex snapped a look over to the right, where the door had opened and Loor stood smirking. "You didn't see that, did you?!"

"Saw every second, hon, on the security camera. I'd have to say that the look on your face was pretty priceless." She then made the 'shoo' motion. "Now you better get fuzzy and get going, or he'll be wondering where his muse went."

Alex nodded, her hands shaking as she bent to the ground, practically leaping out of her clothes as the change took place, leaving Loor to giggle after her and clean up the mess. Alex was lucky that the time she had come back was the time that Loor was feeding Lynn. She had just put the baby back to bed when she noticed that there were people outside the door. Yeah, she had a camera rigged. It was so she knew who was mucking around the area. She had a point of keeping teenagers from putting graffiti on her door.

She took Alex's clothes inside, taking a few careful whiffs of the discarded shirt to get the basics of the night. Perhaps she should have explained to Alex that a person's scent changes according to their mood, and she was pretty good at identification. From what she could get, Alex spent most of her night either nervous her laughing her head off... minor moments of calm... and of course the shirt smelt as much of Alex as it did of Torn. The musey feline dust mixed quiet easily with the constant sulfur smell that followed Torn around. Loor took this all into account before dropping the stuff into a basket that was at the top of the stairs; stuff that was heading for laundry.

It was so cute, watching the fast growing relationship between those two. She left them alone, and sparks flew. It was good for Torn, of course. As far as Loor had seen so far, it was a healthy and well-balanced relationship. They both had plenty to learn from each other, and both seemed willing to learn those things.

It made her wonder if her and Jak's relationship would have been like that if she hadn't been fighting it tooth and nail the whole time. Their first kiss had been very serious, and it took a week and some after they met for it to occur, not to mention a near death experience on her part. On the other hand, her and Jak had never really dated. They were battle buddies who were entered in the same science experiment.

She never really stopped to think about how healthy her own relationship was, but it all worked out, so what was the point? She was sure that her thoughts would be put to good use worrying about Alex, since worrying about others was what she was good at. She liked to play matchmaker...

Still, she couldn't help but think there was something that she had forgotten. Something important had been lost in her thoughts, and she couldn't dig it up. Somehow she knew that the longer she went without remembering it, the worse the reaction was going to be. It wasn't Alex's need to tell Torn what was going on with her, or Torn's equal responsibility to tell her what was wrong with him, it was something else...

Something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Some common denominator that she had forgotten about.

Lynn's young cry rang through the dwelling, shocking Loor out of her own thoughts and at once bolting to the child's room. Lynn, on her back, was wailing for all she was worth, her little feet trying to get rid of the blanket that Loor had recently put over her.

The second Loor was into the room, her nose identified fear in the child's scent.

"Poor thing..." Loor muttered, picking her daughter up with the blanket, gently bobbing and singing a sweet tune to try and calm her down. To tell the truth, the tune came off an old N64 game she used to play, for those who know the Zelda games. The true sign of a geek, you could say.

Oh well, Zelda's Lullaby and Epona's Song worked, so who was to argue?

* * *

Jules had just barely made it home before Torn, getting just about enough time to squeeze in the window and curl up in the middle of the living room floor. She could hardly sit still though, still jittery and kicking. She was so wound up! Sleep was out of the question, and she had giving up on faking it by the time Torn walked in, almost literally bouncing off of the walls. When he walked in, she jumped up onto him, squeaking and mewing in utter glee before launching off again, landing on the tile for the kitchen, skidding, and smacking head first into a wall.

Typical.

Torn was standing aside, momentarily with the 'WTF???' face before going back to the smile he had walked in with and drifting away from the door, shutting it behind himself, and going to take a shower. This left Jules to start running around again, nearly tripping up the tattooed wonder when he came out of the bathroom; dripping slightly. He just chuckled, going to get dressed in his room and then sitting on his bed. Of course, Jules went in once he was decent, hopping onto his lap and nuzzling into his stomach.

He obliged for what she was asking, petting her and laughing lightly. "You're hyper..."

She lifted her head, giving him a look and then lifting her ears, mewing again.

"You noticed, huh?" He asked, regarding the smile she seemed to notice. "Remember that girl I told you about last night? I saw her again tonight..." His expression softened, laying back and snickering. "Jeez, I sound so fucking love struck..."

She crawled up on his chest, making it so she could look him in the face, sitting and tilting her head, her tail bobbing.

"There isn't anything wrong with it... I think. It's just so different from what I'm used to. I'm a military type, and I've only hung out with military types before. This other girl... Alex, she's different. It's almost like she's been on a different world for her whole life."

She glared at him, ears dropping.

"What?" He questioned the poison in her eyes. "I'm just saying what I think. Anyway, what do you care? You haven't even met her."

She seemed to shrug, settling in and perking her ears again.

"She let me pick where we went tonight." He answered. "So there was the gun course, a diner on the port strip, and... we stopped by the fortress ruins. I know it had to have been awkward, but I guess I was getting kinda nervous with how... perfect it had all been. I mean, every little hitch was just laughed off like we didn't care. Maybe I just wanted her to know that I have a lot of reality in my life... and the first part of getting to know me is seeing some of that."

Jules made a strange noise that was a lot like her squeal, but it obviously suggested that she thought what he said was very cute.

"You think it was the right thing to do? I donno... I think I put her off by it." He then shook his head. "I'm still worried about something else though..."

Her ears cocked a bit more forward, eyes wide in question.

"Well, the FL has been keeping an eye on me, a bit more than usual since my last... 'attack.' I won't talk about it too much, but they got someone following me around and shit now. I know that guy reports to the FL directly, which means Ashelin is gonna look into it. Not that I'm cheating or anything, it's just gonna be weird when my boss comes by asking me about the latest developments in my love life."

She seemed to giggle, nuzzling into his neck. Strangely enough, this caused Torn to chuckle lightly. "Hey, watch it." He started petting her again. "That tickles."

She gave him a look.

"Yeah, I know. The neck is a bit of a strange spot."

Her ears went up again, and she promptly attacked his neck.

Torn didn't regret having a muse that could understand him. Not in the least.

* * *

"Loor?"

The raven-haired girl's head shot up at the mention of her name. It was the next morning, and Alex had drug her out shopping for yet another new outfit for the muse girl. Loor had gotten the full report on the date on the night before, and found it rather cute at every new turn her friend told her about. Still, Alex noticed that about every five seconds, her friend zoned out.

"Yeah...?" Loor finally managed once her eyes cleared.

"Is something wrong?"

Loor shook her head, giggling at herself. "No, I just keep getting lost in thought. You know how good I am at that."

"Well don't get too lost, you're still helping me pick out something nice."

"And tell me again why I'm doing this...?"

"Because I wanted a second person to tell me what they think of the outfit before I go running around in it."

"Oh, right." Loor chuckled slightly. She kept getting mixed up for two reasons. One was that she still felt like she had forgotten something, and the other was that, in the current shop they were at, the girls clothing was right next to the perfumes. She could hardly breathe without getting sick. Alex was having a bit of the same problem, but she could at least keep it together.

"What about this one...?" Alex asked, lifting a deep purple shirt off of the rack. Loor gave a look to it to see that it was an off the shoulder top with dark blue straps that criss-crossed the torso.

"Very nice." Loor gave with a smirk. "Blue brings out the brown in your hair, and if you match the shirt with some purple eyeshadow, it should accent the yellow in your eyes." She then started sifting through her own rack, lifting out a knee length skirt, also dark blue. "And this... with your back knee-highs and a set of purple tights should do it."

Alex nodded, seeking out the last needed item so they could get away from the noxious smell coming from the perfume section. Once they were past the checkout and onto Old Haven streets, Alex had come out of her mood and ready to talk about something that had started bothering her that morning.

"Hey... Loor?"

"Huh?"

"I... miss my parents..."

Loor snickered. "I did too when I left. I missed you, my family, my computer..." She shook her head, sighing. "I guess it's just another part of growing up, severing the parent-child ties."

"Yeah..." Alex answered. "I guess..."

"I'm surprised you miss your parents. I mean, I understand you missing your dad, he was pretty cool. But your ma? No offense Alex, but most of the time she was drunk, and when she was drunk she was a class A bitch."

"I know, but she had her good times... the times when she was sober, she was great. Ya'know... I've talked about it before."

Loor gave a slight snort. Yeah, she knew. Alex had a serious love-hate relationship going with her mother. During the days when Alex's mum was sober, the lady was great. She was funny, smiley, and probably where Alex got her goofy side from once you coupled it up with her dad. Still, those times were few and far between. Alex's mum, once drunk, would verbally and occasionally physically abuse Alex. Loor, before all of this, had done her best to be a supportive friend every time Alex called with one of these situations going on, and would do her best to get Alex away from the fire, so to speak.

When Alex didn't want to talk to Loor, she would either keep it to herself or talk to someone on the Internet. Loor truly thought that she made a difference in Alex's life by trying to be there, but she was never quite sure. Alex was good at hiding things when she choose to, and was one of the few people that Loor couldn't read.

"Yeah, I know. I think this place is gonna do better for you though." Loor smiled, looking around. "It's a healthy environment if you know how to handle yourself... speaking of, you're gonna be changing spaces pretty soon."

"Huh?"

Loor grinned at her friend. "I've talked to a few people and pulled a few strings while you've been out romancing. Right now, there's an apartment here in Old Haven with your name on it, I'm just waiting for my account to go through."

"Your account?"

"I'm gonna be paying the rent till you have a job and can stand on your own two feet. I'm not gonna set you up and walk away!" She giggled. "And don't worry about anything. I've got enough cash to burn a wet mule if I wanted to."

"That's mean!" Alex squealed.

"Just a figure of speech..." Loor muttered, rolling her eyes. "So, this date tonight with Torn, where ya going?"

"I donno." Alex shrugged. "The rest have been pretty... random, so far, so I'm not sure."

"Well, you should have some ideas, just in case. Kinda like off-the-cuff remarks when you run out of conversation material."

"Hmm... I just wanna talk with him for a while. Maybe we could go hang out at his place or something..."

"And how do we explain the muse being gone?" Loor questioned.

"He leaves the window open, since the litter box wasn't really working out. For all he knows, Jules goes out and hunts."

"Yeah, for a new shirt." Loor giggled. "Alright, I see your point. Just... be careful, would you?"

"Careful...? What's up with you now?"

"I'm not quite sure Alex. I feel like I've forgotten, and something in my head says that it's a big thing." Sighing, Loor brushed a deft hand through her hair. "It could just be a feeling, but I ought to be talking to Vin about it. He usually helps me figure things out. I don't mean to be the bad guy, Alex, but I have to know if everything is safe or not... If I remember, and it stands between you two, you don't have to forgive me."

"Don't worry." Alex gave, poking her friend on the sweet spot between her shoulder blades. Loor, at once, started chattering, jumping. "It'll be just like our fights back at home."

"Ya'know, I almost missed those fights once every two months. They had a way of keeping me minorly sane."

"You? Sane?" Alex looked shocked. "Back up the trolley car and run that by me again!"

"I said _minorly_ sane."

Both girls started laughing, heading back to Loor's house for Alex to change.

Loor's premonition still hung over her head like a storm cloud.


	19. Hanging By A Moment

ACK! Uber long chapter! I'm sorries people! It printed out to twelve pages. –Sweat- Oh well, serious cute romance, so I hope ya'll enjoy!

**No Ownage.**

Okay, this made my mum mess up, so I'd like to clarify one fact here: ALEX HAS FULL CONTROL OVER THE TRANSFORMATION INTO JULES. Mum thought it was a werewolf thing where she just changed at night automatically, and I admit that was never clarified, but now it has been. MUHAHAHA!!!

**((Song: Hanging By A Moment By Lifehouse))**

**Sammich  
****Hanging By A Moment**

"Hey, Alex, this is for you."

Alex had been prepping to leave again, pulling on her boots and tossing her hair, fresh out of the shower at Loor's place. When Loor spoke to her, she lifted her head to see the girl holding out a little cell-phone like thing and a black pouch for it that went around the hips.

"What is it...?"

"It's a cell phone, really, but no one around here calls 'em that. It's not really a closed circuit either. You call people specifically, but it works like a walky-talky. There's also a few other features on it that I'll let you figure out your leisure."

"So what does everyone call them?" Alex asked while taking it and slipping the pouch around her hips, putting the square item away.

"Comm. units, or just comm., short for Communication Unit. I've already put a short contacts list on there, and there are pictures to help you until you figure out the language. And be careful with it. All I had was a war model, so if that thing takes any damage it'll send an alert to your contacts list." Loor then nabbed it back out of the pouch that Alex just put it in, causing Alex to whine, to show her something. "Also, there's a map on here of Haven City." She held it so that Alex could see which buttons to push to get to it. "Anyone on your contacts list will show up here, telling you where they are. Or, at least, where their unit is."

"Otay..." Alex muttered, squeaking and taking her unit back to look at the map for a moment. She was half an hour early in getting ready, the time being five thirty when they were supposed to meet at six. Sure enough, there was a little icon with a picture of Torn looking rather bored beside it, pinpointing him inside a building somewhere in Old Haven. The other pictures floating about the digital display was Loor, right behind her in the slums area, Jak, who was upstairs and looked as if he was standing directly above the girls, Vin's contacting station at the Power Station, and Ryan, who was wandering South Town.

Alex stared for a few moments and then giggled. "It's like the Marauder's Map from Harry Potter, only back lit."

Loor gave her a funny look, and Alex returned it. After a few seconds, Loor gave the 'oooooh' face. "Sorry, it's been two years. I'd almost forgotten about those books... Which reminds me, how in the world did you get D to send you here? I know you blackmailed him, but how?"

"I got onto your computer." Alex replied like it was no big deal, putting her unit away for the second time.

"How?"

"You left a hint by your computer, or don't you remember?"

Once again, it took Loor a few seconds. "Oh yeah! The fourth Pendragon book with the post-it! For the love of Mar, you mean no one has cleaned my room for all of this time?"

"Your mom gets a little sentimental about it. Remember, she thinks your dead."

"I hate leaving her in the dark like that... but it can't be helped. Maybe it's better that way. I mean, if I showed my face again, I'd be wanted for manslaughter and vandalizing a school."

Alex giggled lightly, nodding. "Yeah, you're right..." She then got that look on her face, catching Loor's attention.

"Still missing them...?"

Alex nodded. "Just a little bit.'

"You... could still go back... I mean, one talk with Onin and she'd set you down where you left off. No one would ever know you were gone. I don't want you to feel like you have to stay." Loor then put a hand on Alex's shoulder. "Though I think your family would get a little weird. Onin can't erase the years you've covered, just rewind them, and they all come back within a week. Going from fifteen to twenty-one has to be kinda painful, not to mention noticeable."

Alex stared at her boots for a few moments, thinking.

Her life at home had been... horrible, to say the least. Her mother was a horror, yelling at her and inflicting irreversible mental damage. Her father didn't listen, nor seem to care, anymore. Who or what was left to go back for? Damian? _School?_ Yeah right. She had no place in that life. To tell the ultimate truth, right after Loor left Alex had picked up some old and rather dangerous habits again.

Let's just say that she used to be shy with the sharp objects, but that eventually went away.

So far, things in this area of time had been better. She felt like she had some control on her life, and more than a chance. She'd found her friend again, and some real reasons to smile. She found a guy she liked, a wide-open job market, and somewhere away from all the screaming that haunted her in her sleep.

Why would she leave heaven to go back to hell?

So, when Alex lifted her head again, she put on the trademark goof-ball smile, shaking her head no. "Uh-Uh!"

Loor nodded. "Good. For a few seconds there I was beginning to feel like a kidnapper."

"You took that from FF-X2." Alex gave with a smirk.

"I know, but it fits, don't it? And it was how I was feeling."

"Whatever, _Rikku."_ Alex turned for the door. "I'm going before my date thinks I got cold feet, or before I actually do get cold feet."

"Good luck, _Paine." _Loor returned.

Alex snickered on her way out. The old Final Fantasy nicknames were kinda worn out, but it had been two years, so she couldn't resist. She herself used to be a fan of the games, and then Chelsea came along and worked her evil magic of annoying-ness on it.

You see, Chelsea has this really bad thing with obsessive behavior. She finds something someone else likes, finds out that she likes it too, and explodes. Once the explosion has occurred, Alex gets annoyed because Chelsea can't shut up. From there, Alex gets to hating whatever was exploded upon, and thus disliking Chelsea for exploding on it and causing her to dislike it.

Tis a vicious circle that is best not messed with. Generally, the two girls can deal with each other as long as they're dealing with the interests that they _don't_ keep in common, thus avoiding annoyance from Alex.

Wait a tic, where was I...?

Oh yeah, Alex was leaving the building to go to what was becoming a routine meeting place between herself and the tattooed wonder.

That's when she remembered that they never set up a place to meet. At once, the oh shit bells in her head went off, but Loor had recently handed her the solution.

She reached for her new pouch, pulling out the comm. that had been gifted to her and checking the map. At once, she was informed that Torn was still in Old Haven, heading for the fountain. Heh, some things go unsaid, it would seem. Putting it away she got moving, and arrived to find Torn already waiting, dressed simply and holding his hands behind his back, watching her as she ran up.

Torn wasn't quite expecting it when she glomped him at a full run. He had to back up two steps while trying to catch her at the same time, which he managed without falling into the fountain that was behind him. "Uh... hi?" He managed after a few seconds, chuckling.

"Beep!!" She squealed, letting go and jumping up and down, suddenly full of energy.

"Nice to see you too." He snickered, looking a little off balance.

She noticed that he was still holding his hands behind his back. "What's with your hands?" She asked in the 'beep' voice, grabbing his arm and tugging.

"Uh…" He let her, a little box being brought forward that he had been hiding. "It's just... uh... something I picked up..." He then held it out to her. "It's... erm... for you..."

She felt like she was glowing again, a huge grin picking up on her face as she gently took the box from his nervous hands, tilting the lid off of the box and looking at what was inside with curiosity in her eyes.

Inside the box was a navy blue scarf with dark red patterns stitched in at the ends like sparkles, and a single hand brushed on it told her it was slick silk.

Her delayed reaction had shot Torn even more into the world of shaky nervousness. "I didn't know if you'd like it... and I'm not much of a flowers guy..."

She lifted it out of the box, casting it around her neck and glomping him again, dropping the box.

"It's shiny!" She giggled, since her feet didn't touch the ground after she glomped him, pretty much hanging around his neck. "And it lasts longer than flowers." The tone she used was reassuring. It was obvious that he had no idea what he was doing, and she was pretty sure guys liked to hear that they had done something right.

Torn patted her lightly, waiting for her to detach. "So..." He said once her feet were back on the ground. "Where are we going tonight?"

She shrugged, picking up the discarded box and looking around for a trash receptacle. "I donno... I just wanna hang... Maybe we could go to your place?"

"Um... sure, I guess." He shrugged, still regaining his usually calm demeanor. They both turned to start walking out of Old Haven towards New Haven, passing a trashcan on the way to toss the box for the blue scarf that Alex was now proudly wearing.

This time, he grabbed her hand.

Once again, Alex noticed the person that was following Torn around, and didn't say a word till they lost the guy at the apartment building. Once they went inside, the guy turned off from the street they had taken and tired to look like he hadn't been following them at all. Torn seemed to be able to tell that someone tailing them made her uncomfortable, and gave a slight smile when they escaped that gaze.

Up on the fifth floor, Torn used a key card to open his door, holding it open and letting her past first.

"It seems kinda empty..." She commented, looking around. Of course she had seen it before, but she felt different now, walking in and taking in the simple apartment.

"I don't spend much time at home unless I'm sleeping." He gave back, closing and locking the door behind him. He then started looking about. "Or taking care of my muse..." He muttered this, going past Alex after kicking off his shoes, seeming to be trying to track something down. She watched as he walked from the main room to the kitchen and then poked his head into his own bedroom. "Jules?"

"Huh?" Alex answered on reflex, kicking herself in her mind.

"My muse's name." Torn replied, sighing and coming back. "She must be outside or something..."

Alex nodded. She was a little shaky now, and Torn noticed it. "Hey, take off your shoes and make yourself at home, and I'll see about something to eat, alright?"

"Mtay..." She muttered as he left the main room, quickly taking off her zip-ups and relaxing on the couch in the room. It was a little strange. She never spent much time in the apartment once she had gone human. Usually, Loor came by with her clothes, she changed, and then she was gone. Now she took a few moments to notice some stuff on eye-level, like the shelf in the main room that she had never seen before. After she did, she got up to see the stuff that was on it.

There were two pictures in frames that were up, and one that was flipped down. One of the two that were showing was the one that she had seen in Ryan's apartment, the other being Jak and Torn sitting with Loor, who was in a hospital bed, holding a new born Lynn.

Alex reached for the flipped down picture, about to touch it when Torn poked his head back into the room.

At once, she pulled her hand back and looked over. "Uh... I was just... uh…"

"They're old pictures." He said, not seeming to notice that she was flustered and changing the subject. "All I have is sandwich stuff, is that okay?"

Her eyes suddenly got a sparkle to them. "Sammich?" She asked, going back to the 'beep' voice.

"I'll take that for a yes..."

And he left again. Alex could hear him in the other room, probably getting the stuff out, as she once again went to lift up the flipped down picture.

The frame was obviously one that had been decorated by hand with odd designs and stuff all over it. Someone had taken time to dedicate it to someone else. Under the glass of the frame was a simple photo of a teenage Ashelin hugging an equally teenage Torn from behind. Ashelin seemed to be laughing, and Torn had a half smile on his face. It looked as if he had been working when he had been attacked and the picture had been snapped.

In the bottom right corner, someone had written on the photo.

_Love you, From Ashelin._

"Like I said," The voice called Alex out of her thoughts. "It's an old picture."

_------------------------_

_Desperate for changing  
__Starving for truth  
__I'm closer to where I started  
__I'm chasing after you_

_------------------------_

She turned to look up at him, where he was standing behind her, easing the picture out of her hand to set it back on the shelf. He wasn't looking at her though, he was looking at the picture, where his eyes seemed to be wounded by it. His face could have replicated that of his younger self if one simply edited out the somewhat rueful smile that he had been pictured with.

His hand was still resting on hers, between them, where it had fallen off of the shelf.

"...Torn?"

He broke out of the picture, looking down at her.

She leaned up, her lips meeting his cheek.

If someone had a camera to compare the two moments in time, the one frozen on the shelf and the one currently frozen in his mind, they would be able to see which girl he was more happy being with.

_------------------------_

_I'm falling even more in love with you  
__Letting go of all I've held on to  
__I'm standing here until you make me move  
__I'm hanging by a moment here with you._

_------------------------_

He was blushing lightly, which was a bit of a shock for anyone. Torn, of all people, was actually blushing. It was slight, of course, but it was there. That wasn't what Alex noticed when she looked though. What she noticed was the full on smile. Hell, it was almost a grin. And, in full honesty, he had never made that face from getting kissed before. Ever.

So, what does the tattooed wonder say? Something sumptuous? Romantic? Cute? Endearing?

No.

"Uh... the sandwiches are done..."

Ya'know, Alex had kinda forgotten about the sandwiches. Still, once mentioned, she looked to find that a plate occupied the hand he wasn't holding her with, two sandwiches on it. "Sammich!" She giggled, looking up at him as he kept that smile.

It somehow managed to widen a bit, too.

_------------------------_

_Forgetting all I'm lacking  
__Completely incomplete  
__I'll take your invitation  
__You take all of me_

_------------------------_

Once that moment passed, they both sat down on the couch, and Alex quickly nabbed her 'sammich', munching. Between mouthfuls, she had to ask; "So when was that picture taken?"

"About six years ago." He gave, shrugging. "Still during my Guard days."

"What was it like in the Guard?"

"Tough." He gave the one-word description. "I mean, it has to be... but... I donno how to describe it without exaggerating."

"C'mon, there has to be something... like... how old were you when you were put in?"

"My dad put me in the academy when I was five, and I was put into the KG directly at ten." He started rubbing his left forearm unconsciously. "That's when I got my tattoos."

"Ten?" Alex asked, her eyes big in surprise. "Well weren't you just a little emo boy!"

"Emo...?"

She giggled. "Like... kinda the type of person who likes to pretend to have problems and then get lots of piercings and tattoos and cut themselves without any real reason. It's a stereotype term."

He chuckled. "Well, then there were a lot of emo people in the Guard."

_------------------------_

_I'm falling even more in love with you  
__Letting go of all I've held on to  
__I'm standing here until you make me move  
__I'm hanging by a moment here with you_

_------------------------_

"All the little emo people!" She grinned and laughed, having finished her sammich. Torn didn't notice as she started munching on his. "But... was it really bad in the Guard?"

"Depends on your definition of bad." His eyes seemed to blank. "I mean, we got three meals a day and a place to sleep at night, so I guess that was better than half of the city during those times."

"But didn't you have people yelling at you all the time and telling you what to do?" She then cracked a half smile. "Did the boys rape each other in the shower?"

His face remained blank, probably not catching the humor in her voice. "Yeah... sometimes. And the girls."

Her voice dropped the laugh. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean-"

"It's fine. It's just the truth of the matter, nothing more."

"Did it happen to you?"

That's when his mind broke out of the past and came shooting back to the present, making him look over at her. It was the concern in her voice that struck him.

She actually cared.

_------------------------_

_I'm living for the only thing I know  
__I'm running and not quite sure where to go  
__And I don't know what I'm tapping into  
__Just hanging by a moment here with you_

_------------------------_

"That's why the relationship between me and Ashelin ended." He said after a few moments. "But once it wasn't her, she wouldn't protect me, and it became other officers that were older than me, and stronger. It was like their anger out-let... and I was one of the youngest commanding officers since I went up the ranks pretty quickly."

Alex had finished munching, and moved the plate to the floor to sit closer to where he had leaned on the arm of the couch. "Aw... poor baby."

He managed a shrug, but the issue was not dismissed from his face, where it had seemed to break apart and show something very soft under his tough exterior. The hand that had been incessantly rubbing his forearm broke away, finding her hand again. "It's just what's happened in the past..."

"That doesn't matter." She gave. "It still effects you."

"It did back then. It doesn't have to now."

Alex took this moment to notice why he had been rubbing his forearm while talking about his old Guard days. It was the same reason his face had gone dead, remembering how it had effected him.

_------------------------_

_There's nothing else to lose  
__There's nothing else to find  
__There's nothing in the world  
__That can change my mind  
__There is nothing else  
__There is nothing else  
__There is nothing else_

_------------------------_

There were various scars all over his forearm and wrist, and they all looked to be self-inflicted. She at once saw her mistake, making so light of what had probably happened to him and hundreds of other people. Still, she couldn't stop the curiosity of her hands, reaching out and tugging his wrist and arm into a clearer view for herself, running her hand over it and then looking back up at him.

He seemed pained at the fact of those past scars. "Don't worry... it was...--"

She pulled her hand away from his, lifting her arm and pulling up the sleeve, showing marks on her wrist that were almost identical. "A long time ago?"

Hers looked a lot more recent.

_------------------------_

_Just hanging by a moment  
__Hanging by a moment  
__Hanging by a moment  
__Hanging by a moment here with you_

_------------------------_

Torn was somewhat shocked. He really wouldn't have expected it from her, after all of her bubbly antics and bouncy behavior. Of course he suspected there was a more realistic side to her, but he would have never guessed it to be like the tender insides that he himself always kept covered and defended.

"My mother." She explained. "She used to be a nice person... a long time ago, but then she picked up alcohol, and the good mom I loved died, replaced by an abusive bitch."

"Sounds like my dad..." Torn muttered, snorting. "Only I never knew the side my mom fell in love with."

For some reason, that made Alex a little more comfortable. He knew where she was coming from. After a few seconds, she inserted a smile of comfort that was aimed at him, and he returned it. With that smile out, he suddenly noticed something.

"Where did my sandwich go?"

"Sammich." She corrected, and then turned red. "Oops... I stole it."

They both started laughing, and Torn sat up slightly, pulling Alex to sit on his lap with her back to him, using his chest as a pillow.

"Hey... Alex?"

"Yeah?" She asked, leaning her head back to look at him.

"I don't have to work tomorrow... it's a weekend. I can set up the couch if you wanna hang for the night."

"Sure."

Truth be told, the couch never got set up. They ended up talking all night, and eventually Alex just got up, shut off the light, and sat back down with him because he hadn't bothered to get up.

They ended up sacking out together, his arms around her shoulders.


	20. Words

Back again, I hope you all like the new chapter! It's kinda funny, but more focused on the romance to tell the truth. Oh well.

**I own nothing. **

OWTF!!

(BTW, everyone had been questioning WHEN Alex is gonna tell Torn about the muse thing, and I'm not gonna tell ya'll when, but let me say its SUPPOSED to trigger disaster.))

**Sammich  
****Words **

_"Who are you...?" _

Alex was brought out of her sleep by these words, her brown and yellow eyes cracking open to find herself incredibly content at feeling Torn's arm's still around her. Still, her gaze shifted to the point where this voice had come from. It wasn't Torn, the voice was far too soft and smooth, like the glassy surface of a lake.

Her eyes were met with the shadowy form of a muse with bright green eyes. Her eyes didn't register at first, but then she got it.

"...Corky...?"

_"You know my name?" _He scoffed, standing on the back of the couch, leaning close to try and sniff the couple. _"You smell like her... but you can't be her..." _

"Corky..." Alex yawned. "...how did you get in here...?"

_"The window, it's still open."_ The muse's words were dripping with sarcasm. _"Not that you can understand me." _

"I can, actually."

Corky jumped at the direct reply, falling off of the back of the couch. Alex tried not to yelp, managing to wiggle away from Torn without waking him. "Corky, what are you doing here?"

The muse was righting himself, shaking his head. _"Looking for a friend of mine, **Mon Cheri. **Would you be so kind as to illuminate how you know me?__ **Sacrebleu**__Why do I even ask? Talking with a human... the notion is absurd..." _

"You're looking for Jules... aren't you...?"

His gaze came up from the floor, looking at her. _"So what if I am?"_

"You're staring at her."

Corky stared at her for several moments, his feline mind not comprehending what she had just handed him. He backed up two steps, away from the couch, and then made a break for the window. Alex couldn't help it, jumping over the couch after him, feeling something that she knew.

She felt hurt, that feeling of a knife being driven into her chest. That hurt spread out from that central spot across her body, the emotion ruling her mind.

Seconds later, she had involuntarily changed, the emotion pushing it through, leaving her clothes behind as she pounced upon the blue and yellow male muse, stopping him from jumping up to the window. _"Corky!" _She yowled.

Corky yowled back, turning and throwing Jules, snorting and once again backing away from her. _"What in the world are you trying to pull?!" _

_"Nothing! It's just the way it is!" _She answered, pulling herself off of the floor, panting slightly.

Corky stared at her for a few more seconds, weighing his options before breaking out in a musey smile. _"No hard feelings, love. I was just a little shocked. It's not every day you see that, though it explains a lot." _

_"Like?" _

_"Like how you didn't know how to talk. How long have you been able to change?"_

_"A few days..." _She sighed, getting up and looking to her clothes. She'd have to either hide them or change back, and she wasn't looking to do much more shifting at the moment. _"An eco related thing..." _

_"Eco makes the world go 'round, it seems." _Corky then walked up to her, still smiling. _"So, you're sweet on Torn, are you?" _

Jules would have blushed, had she been capable.

_"Strange, and you double as his pet? That's a recipe for disaster." _

_"I'm gonna tell him! I just... haven't gotten around to it." _

_"I'll wish you good luck with that..." _He snorted in Torn's general direction. _"Just... stand a few feet away."_

_"Why?"_

_"You don't know about it...?"_

_"About what?" _

_"It's just a condition that Torn has... and... well, actually, I think you wouldn't believe me."_ The male muse jumped up onto the counter to get going out of the window. _"**Avior** Baby." _

She jumped up after him. _"Wait a second, what are you talking about?? What's wrong with him?" _

_"You'll find out on your own, Jules. Enjoy your night!"_

She sat there with one ear twitching in annoyance as the male muse dashed off, not bothering to chase him beyond the windowsill.

* * *

Torn's arms were empty when he woke up. It was slow, and probably the first time in ages that he had slept in past six in the morning, but his head shot up when he felt something crawling onto his lap. 

"Oh... hi Jules..." He muttered, yawning and lifting a hand to pet the muse that had come to bid him good morning. The black and red animal mewed her good-mornings and then went to start nuzzling his neck, making him snicker and go to scratch her behind the ears. "Where did Alex go...?"

Jules at once jumped away from him, making Torn try to get up, rolling off of the couch and nearly planting his face in the carpet, managing his feet to follow the muse into the kitchen. Once he had gotten into the room, he found her sitting on the table in the room, a piece of white paper at her feet with a pen next to it.

Torn, rubbing his eyes and remembering that he needed to take a shower, grabbed the slip off of the table to glance over it, but it was covered in symbols that he couldn't understand. "What the hell?" He asked, looking down at Jules. "Can you understand this shit?"

Jules's ears had dropped, a look of shock on the muse's face. Torn put the paper back down to go take a shower, wondering why the hell Alex would write a note in a dialect he didn't know. Precursor was the common language, wouldn't she know that and use it?

Wait a second... some of those symbols looked like the writing that Loor used sometimes... maybe he should go ask her. But was she even home? That was an easy question to answer. He left the shower, got dressed, and found his comm. to take a look at the map. Jules came and crawled up onto his shoulder to see what he was doing while he found Loor to be at home on his map. Well, that made things easy. Petting Jules, he went back to his main menu and found that he had a pending contact.

It didn't have a picture; just a name.

Alex.

"Where'd she get my number...?" He asked out loud, but assumed that Loor gave it to her. Oh well, who was he to say no? It might tell him where she went. He accepted the request and went back to his map.

It said that she was still in the building, either on a different floor or in his apartment. Yeah, it was a 2D map, so there were no lateral depictions.

Jules looked for a few seconds, and then shot off somewhere else in the apartment. Torn gave her a funny look, and then got up to follow. He had hardly stood up before she came zooming back, a little device being carried in her jaws.

It was the war model of a comm., identifying as one that came out of Loor's collection of random gadgetry. Taking it from Jules, he opened the menu and the device identified itself as belonging to Alex with a banner along the top of the display.

"She must of forgotten it..." He told himself, pocketing it and putting away his own, grabbing the strange note from Alex and moving for the door. Strangely enough, Jules didn't follow him, staying in the apartment.

No, she just gave a great big sigh of relief when he left the apartment.

Jeez that had been a close one! She quickly darted under the couch to where she had hidden her clothes, dragging them out, changing, and getting dressed. How could have she forgotten that they didn't read English writing?? Gawd, that was like the basics of the basics...

Snorting at her mishap once more, she wrapped the scarf he had given her around her middle and got on her way.

* * *

"Oh... hey Torn, how you be?" 

"Confused." Torn answered truthfully, talking to Loor, who was leaning inside her own doorframe with Lynn in her arms. "Alex spent the night, but she wasn't there when I got up, and she left a note written in something I can't even read." He said this while holding out the little slip he had found on his table.

Loor took it and raised an eyebrow, giggling lightly. "It's the common written language where we're from. She doesn't know precursor, which is one of the reasons that I'm filling out her immigration forms for her."

"Just tell me what it says."

"Says that she had to go and she didn't want to wake you up, signed Alex." She then smirked. "Man, her handwriting is still better than mine..." She then handed the note back. "I wouldn't expect her on mastering precursor characters any time soon, but give me a sec, will ya? Come on in, I just need to get a piece of paper."

Torn followed Loor inside, watching the raven haired girl as she bustled down to the lower level, setting Lynn on one of the old bunks and charging Torn with watching her to make sure she didn't roll off anywhere and getting some blank paper and a pencil. Moments later, she handed him the paper.

"It's a simple precursor to English chart, so if she writes you any more notes you can read 'em." Loor snickered, grabbing Lynn again and going back to the table in the room where a great many pieces of paper that were not blank were spread out.

Torn stared at the chart for a few moments. "The G and the Y look kinda the same..."

Loor snickered. "Yeah, go figure."

"So what's all that stuff?" He asked, gesturing to the paperwork on the table.

"Alex's immigration stuff. I visited over to the FL and picked them up yesterday. I have to make sure everything is legal before people come down here trying to arrest my friend for a fake ID or no ID."

"They're still arresting people for not having an ID?"

"Yeah. I guess they're still worried about powerful metal heads doing what Kor did and making themselves look human to get into the city. I mean, yeah, it was two years ago, but I don't blame them. That's why I need to get these papers through as soon as possible. Hell, I'll probably turn them in to Ashelin directly."

Both of their heads suddenly shot up at a beeping sound that went through the dwelling. "Oh, loverly..." Loor sighed, getting up again. "Here, hold this." Loor said, not waiting for Torn to answer, pushing a napping Lynn into his arms as Loor bustled up the stairs, checking the camera feed that was by the door.

Alex was standing outside. Huh, Loor knew she'd turn up. Quickly hitting the button for opening the door, she gave a half-hearted smile to her friend. "Where were you last night?" Loor quickly inquired before Alex could even say hello.

"I spent the night with Torn."

"No shit! You could have called and told me before I stayed up all night waiting for you."

Alex's eyes widened, and she started giggling. "Oh my God, you stayed up all night?? I'm sorry!"

"Yeah, you look real damn sorry." Loor gave sarcastically, waving her friend inside and closing the door again. "I better make sure Lynn hasn't thrown up on your boyfriend."

"He's here?!" Alex almost squealed. "You could have told me!"

"What the hell...?"

Loor, who was halfway downstairs, backed up as Alex went to the bottom landing to gush over the image of Torn holding Lynn. Loor was looking upstairs though, to see that all the commotion had brought Jak out of bed. "Sorry... Alex paid a visit."

"I noticed..." Jak grumbled, hardly dressed, looking like his head was still on the pillow. Loor quickly raced up the stairs to give him a hug and apologize.

"Sorry about it... it's kind of a good thing though. Usually, if she's loud, she's happy."

He returned the hug, nodding. "Yeah... but usually loud noises around here mean that someone has to visit Lynn..."

"Don't worry, I think she's covered." She muttered dryly, hearing Alex giving baby talk in the lowest level.

"You think?" Jak chuckled. "Should I get up, or are you all handled?"

"I'm good." She then giggled, going for a quick kiss to his cheek. "But I could use the company once I've managed to get rid of the tattooed wonder and his girlfriend."

"Alright." He hugged her again, lifting her off of the floor by a few inches. It made her giggle, picking up her legs and ruffling his hair. "I'll go put some pants on, huh?"

Loor noticed the boxers. "Yeah, that might be a good idea."

Suddenly, Alex's voice came up from below. "Hey, Loor! Can I ask the rating of the situation up there?"

Loor rolled her eyes, Jak putting her down so she could lean over the rail of the stairs going up to look at Alex in the stairs going down. "None of your business!"

"Oooo!" Alex teased back. "Maybe you should tell Jak it's not polite to get frisky when you've got company!"

"As soon as you stop writing love letters that Torn has to bring to me to translate." Loor shot back.

Alex went crimson when Torn suddenly joined the conversation. "Love letters?"

Loor snickered. "Torn, do you really think I'd give you the _literal_ translation? I gave you a chart, now figure it out for yourself."

"Alex doesn't know precursor?" Jak questioned, bringing Loor back from the railing as Alex attempted to prevent Torn from reading the note she had written for him, squealing and jumping up and down.

"Naw, she was never as obsessed as I was."

He smirked. "Though she's hitting just about the same predicament. Wasn't Torn a main character?"

She nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. I find it funny that she clicks so well with him; they're polar opposites."

"Oh, and we're perfectly alike?" An eyebrow rose on his face.

"No, but we have some common ground, some of it obvious, some of it not, but I just don't know where those two match up." She then paused, hearing silence from the lower level. "Oy, I think Torn just finished reading."

"Tell me how it ends."

Loor giggled as Jak went back into the room to get dressed, descending the stairs to find she was right. She stood on the middle landing to survey the scene, a slight smirk on her face.

The note was still in Torn's hand, pencil marks all over it as he had deciphered it letter-for-letter. The arm attached to that hand was around Alex's shoulders, his other arm still holding Lynn, his eyes closed and a content smile on his face. In his arms, Alex was equally content, leaning against his chest and hugging him. She was a perfect height that his chin could rest on her head, almost like how two puzzle pieces fit together.

The note dropped out of Torn's hand and into Loor's view, though she already knew what it said;

_Torn, _

_I'm sorry I had to get going so early, but I had somewhere I needed to be that I forgot about._

_I had a wonderful time last night. You reminded me that no matter how bad it gets, someone still cares. _

_Love,  
__Alex._

Strange how so few words could be rather powerful.


	21. Playing Fair

… And the plot thickens. I'm not too happy with this chapter. I almost felt awkward writing it. Oh well.

**Owning nothing, as usual…**

OWTF.

**Sammich  
****Playing Fair**

Alex broke away from Torn when she heard Loor wolf whistling, looking up at her friend and turning red. Neither of the couple said anything, and Loor came down with a smirk on her face, taking Lynn, grabbing the diaper bag that was near the table, and motioning for both Torn and Alex to follow her.

"Where are we going?" Alex finally questioned once they were outside.

"Your apartment, Alex. The account went through, so we might as well set you up."

"And why am I following you guys?" Torn asked.

"Because, my tall friend, you might as well know where the hell your girlfriend is living."

"He's not tall." Alex gave. "He's vertically blessed."

Loor glanced back at the couple, and the height difference between them. "Whatever you say Alex." She answered with a roll of her eyes, bobbing Lynn as she walked since the baby had woken up. It was a fairly short walk through the slums that Loor kept silent for. Torn, on the other hand, had just remembered something.

"Oh, yeah... this is yours." He said, pulling out Alex's comm. and handing it to her.

"Thank you!" She giggled, taking it back and putting it away in her pouch for it. "I had forgotten it I was in such a rush."

"You didn't mention where you had to get off to so early in the morning." He pointed out, looking down at her.

"Oh... right..." She felt herself going red. Thankfully, Loor was listing to save the day just as they crossed into Old Haven from the slums.

"I had called her since I needed her signature of a few of her registration papers and some of her personal information that I couldn't remember. Ya'know, like her birthday is on May sixteenth... or the correct spelling of her last name."

"You could have waited to call her." Torn sounded slightly miffed.

"Yeah, and she could have called me to tell me that she was spending the night." Loor shot back.

"I said I was sorry!" Alex yelped.

Torn chuckled. "You sound like you're playing mother to her, Loor."

"It kinda feels like it too, 'cept she ain't needy or nothing." The raven-haired girl laughed lightly, turning right into the residential quarter of Old Haven. "I guess it comes with parenthood."

"Yeah, of three kids." Torn grumbled.

"Three?" Loor questioned. "Last I checked I only had one."

"Yeah, and you've been trying to keep both Fury and Artimus on a leash as well."

"That's because they're both young teens. I'm not gonna let them just run around like a couple of stray dogs." Loor said this while glaring back at the tattooed wonder. "As long as those two are in school, they ain't doing anything."

"Haven't they had sex before, though?" Alex asked, slightly confused.

"Doesn't mean I'm happy about it, and she's my little sister. Till those two are properly married, my foot ain't coming back up." Loor snorted this, stopping at a building and letting Alex get her bearings. It was in the middle of the west quarter of Old Haven, and Loor handed her friend a card key that had the number of the apartment on it, not that Alex could read it.

"Second floor, third door on the left." Loor explained, giggling and Alex squinted at the numbers, as if they would suddenly change into something she could understand. "206, and it has a nameplate and everything. There's basic furniture in there too which belongs to you now, stuff I bought, and a few other things so you can switch around the place."

"Loor, why the hell are you setting up your friend in cheap housing?" Torn questioned, looking up.

"Because, I'm not gonna go and hand her an apartment that she can't pay for. Once she has a job, she's gonna be living on her own, and I didn't wanna go and get her a penthouse." She rolled her eyes, watching as Alex was biting her key card, looking around with the square item hanging out of her mouth. "Well... enjoy." Loor managed after a few moments of giving Alex the blank 'WTS?' look. "I'll be back in about an hour."

"Where ya going?" Alex questioned, taking the key card out of her mouth.

"Finishing up those papers. The sooner that paperwork is through, the better, and then me and you got to hit another one of the local shops."

"Why?"

Loor gave a funny look to Torn. "I'm surprised buddy boy hasn't invited you yet. Every Sunday the group goes over to the rec. center here because Torn has to keep up to military standard, as does Jak, and I just enjoy the exercise."

"Why do we have to go shopping for that?"

"Because there's a pool there." Loor answered, turning once more and walking back. "See ya!"

"Pool?" Alex asked absently, looking over at Torn, who shrugged. She grimaced, looking after Loor again. "I dun wanna show off my icky legs!!"

Torn gave her a look. "They didn't look that bad last night..." He noted, since she had been wearing a skirt.

"Nu-uh! I have thunder thighs..." She trailed off. "Last I checked..."

He shrugged off her insecure moment, ruffling her hair, which made her yelp and duck away. He then glanced up at the building once more. "Well, are you going up or what?"

"I donno." She looked up at him. "Are you coming with?"

He thought about it, and shook his head. "No, I should be getting home. I didn't feed my muse this morning..." He chuckled lightly. "I wouldn't put it past her to try and maim me for it."

"She might have gone out to hunt."

"True, but I'm better off safe than sorry, right?" He went to give her a quick hug.

"Right." She agreed, returning the hug, his head resting on hers again.

He left a kiss on her cheek before leaving, making her smile, blushing as she waved.

* * *

"Hey, Ashelin, you got a sec?" 

The redhead addressed lifted her head, glancing back. Behind her, Loor was running up, clutching a file folder. Of course Loor was a common face around FL HQ, and Ashelin cracked a quick smile at the raven-haired girl. "Yeah, what's with the big folder? I thought the only thing you carried around these days was your kid."

"Well, you remember that I have a friend who is settling down here? This is her registration stuff. She had some other stuff to do and asked me to turn it in for her." Loor laughed lightly. "I don't want anyone trying to bust her for lack of ID, so I thought you'd do me a favor as old friends and get it into the system a bit faster than me turning it in at the lower office."

Ashelin took the folder, nodding. "Yeah, I think it's crazy all the stuff they have in this registration packets... I mean, I can understand past residence and all that, but I think we went a little far when we ask what their ear shape is... Hey, what was your friend's name again?"

"Alex." Loor answered, smiling. "She's a real live wire."

Ashelin's face changed for a moment, from a friendly smile to a slight frown, before she regained herself. "I see... I've heard that she's been hanging quite a bit with Torn."

"Yeah." Loor agreed. "It's a good relationship, but you probably already know that since you got people stalking him for you."

"Hey, that's a security measure." Ashelin gave, giving Loor a look.

"Yeah, I know, I'm just poking fun... though I'm a little worried. They're pretty official, and he hasn't told her about his... issues yet. He's probably scared of frightening her."

"He hasn't told her about it?" Ashelin got a slight smirk. "I see. C'mon Loor, I'll take these to my office so you can get the signed copies back before I send it all down to the guys who handle all of this citizenship crap."

"Yay, carbon copies..." Loor muttered in sarcasm. "Just in case, right?"

"I don't trust computers." Ashelin sighed, leading the way. "Are you gonna be keeping the copies, or is Alex?"

"I don't put it past Alex not to loose 'em. At least at my place I have a file cabinet."

"True." Ashelin shrugged, opening a door to what was her office, which was pretty big with a lot more paperwork, only her stuff wasn't a mess like Torn's was. Everything was filed away neatly. Ashelin went through the important certification forms, putting her signature where it was needed and peeling away the yellow carbons for Loor to take back home. Once that pile was in order, Loor turned to be on her merry way.

"Ashelin..." Loor said, in the doorway, looking back.

"Hm...?"

"Just... play fair, alright?"

Ashelin gave Loor a look. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, I think you do." Loor muttered, putting her head back down. "I most certainly think you do."

Loor also had a thought cross her mind that Ashelin wasn't planning on fair play.

* * *

"Alex...? You still alive in there?" 

"...do I have to come out?"

"Yes, you have to come out. C'mon, you picked that one out yourself, how bad can it be?"

"My stomach looks fat, and my thighs are huge!"

Loor rolled her eyes, leaning against the side of the stall. It had been rather complicated that Sunday morning, getting Torn to leave his apartment without Alex being with Loor, and then getting Jules out of the apartment and over to the center before Torn got suspicious about anything. The good news was that the couple had spent the night before without going on another date, so Loor didn't have to go explaining anything for any strange behavior that Alex might have exhibited.

The day before, Loor had gone shopping with Alex as promised. Alex seemed to like the swimsuit she picked out then, but was suddenly not wanting to leave the confines of the changing room.

"Alex, I'm sure it looks fine."

"It's not the swimsuit, it's _me._"

"You still can't get her out of there?" Fury asked, walking up, wearing a simple pink two-piece, holding Lynn.

"Yeah..." Loor sighed. "On the other hand, I wasn't expecting it to be easy. Are the boys already in the water?"

"Yep." Fury nodded. "'cept Artimus is just sitting on the edge."

Loor snickered. Fury didn't know this, but Artimus couldn't swim. Turning back to Alex's stall, Loor took off her towel and threw it over. "Wear that if you're gonna be self-conscious."

"Thank you..." Alex squeaked from the other side. A few seconds later, the brown haired youth finally came out, clutching the green colored towel around her hips. According to Loor, she looked fine. She had tied her hair back into a low pony and wearing a one-piece suit that was navy blue. On the other hand, Loor thought just about anyone could wear a swimsuit unless they were horridly Krew-style obese. She herself was wearing a black two-piece that showed her post pregnancy stomach, or, in her mother's words, her deflated beach ball.

"Since when did you get a tattoo?" Alex asked, giving Loor a look. It was true, Loor had a red dragon on her chest, the head coming up to her collarbone, the wings hidden under her swim top, and the tail curling around her torso. A section of the tail looked funny and stretched, pointing out that the tattoo had been gotten before Loor started blowing up like the Goodyear blimp.

"Last year." Loor answered, snickering and taking Lynn from Fury. The child was just in a diaper, and it was already wet since Fury had visited the kiddy pool with her. "In Kras city. I was bored."

"...Kras city?" Alex asked, following as Loor led the way from the bathroom that they had chosen to change in over to the large room that housed the pool. The rec. center was a pretty simple set up. There was the lobby where you paid for your session by how long you were gonna hang around, a pool with an extra kiddy pool in the far corner as the center-piece with a door to a courtyard that was open for sunbathing during the summer, and on the far side of the building was a gym that Torn usually opted for, but Loor had forced him into swimming this time.

"Racing capital of the world. It's a long story for a different time." Loor giggled as they got to the room. The pool was pretty big, going from three feet at one end to twelve at the other. Torn was floating in the deep end on his back, looking at ease, his hair loose for once and fanning out. Jakkie boy was under the water, and Artimus was still on the edge at the shallow end. "Yo, Arti, ya gonna get in any time soon?" She questioned the black haired boy with a knowing smirk.

"Not on your life." Artimus answered back.

Fury took this moment to push her boy in, diving in after him and swimming out to the deeps. Loor rolled her eyes, seeing as the kid couldn't swim, and she was sure Artimus wouldn't say anything. Thank goodness the shallow end was only three feet. She stopped near the stairs at their end and looked over at Alex. "Well?"

"What?" Alex asked innocently over the sound of Artimus ripping Fury a new one for shoving him in.

"Are you gonna get in or am I gonna have to drag you?"

"Aren't you gonna get in?"

Loor rolled her eyes. "Do you see the baby? I'm hanging in the kiddy pool. There's not as much chlorine, it's better for her."

Alex mirrored Loor's eye-roll and finally dropped the towel, quickly getting into the water before anyone could notice her legs, which made Loor laugh at her. "They're not big." Loor assured, turning to walk over to the corner.

Alex glared after her friend. "Yes they are!" She shouted back before diving under the water and swimming into the deeper water. It was strange that she hated water so much in the muse form, yet normally she loved water, and swimming.

She just hated her legs. She had taken the time the day before to shave, but it didn't make her feel any more confident. It actually got her thinking about a lot of things that had changed since she came to this place, things that happened because of Bojo; like her age, but mainly her eyes. When Alex had been on her way to Haven she had been wearing her glasses because she wasn't expecting to find a lot of solution for her contacts. She didn't remember having her glasses when she landed, and she hadn't needed them since for some reason. She knew that cats had good eyesight, so fusing with Bojo probably fixed her eyes.

Weird.

It also made her wonder though. That cat was somewhere inside of her, yes? But where? Where were his thoughts on all that had been happening? Was it just the Jules form, or was there something else...?

She came up for air, breaking the surface and pushing water off of her face so she could open her eyes, treading water and looking about. She was in the deep end, but Torn wasn't floating there anymore. Turning around she found Artimus getting out of the water again and Fury looking sheepish, probably going into one of her 'sorry' binges, while Jak was laughing at them both.

She yelped as the tattooed wonder suddenly came up right in front of her.

She never thought to look down.


	22. Inside Joke

And Loor is adding to the tension! WTS? Why am I taking so long to get to the juicy bits…? Oh yeah, because I'm torturing you guys. Or maybe it's because I'm feeling like I'm on some weird draining writers block and I don't think I'll be able to write the next few chapters that well… meh, I donno. All I know is that I'm feeling crappy, and it probably has something to do with my raised caffeine intake.

**I own nothing. Cept Bojo. And his muscular head.**

OWTF!!

**Sammich  
****Inside Joke**

"Artimus...?"

"Yeah Fury?"

"Can I ask a question?"

"Uh... sure."

"Tell me how it is that we managed to be babysitting while the mother is a mere fifteen feet away?"

"Because I don't like water and the mother was invited to a game of chicken."

"Oh yeah..." Fury muttered, looking back out at what was a pretty interesting picture. Yeah, Jak and Loor vs. Torn and Alex in a good ol fashioned game of pool chicken, the girls sitting on the boys' shoulders and trying to wrestle each other off. The rest of the image was at the side of the pool where Fury had Lynn on her lap, the kid cooing randomly, laying on her back on Fury's towel while the brown haired fourteen-year-old reclined next to her boyfriend, watching the kid and the game at the same time.

Currently, it looked like Alex and Torn were winning this loverly contest of trying to shove a small stack of two people over, but it was obvious that Loor was holding back all of her war muscles.

"Any bets?" Artimus questioned, smirking.

"No."

Loor suddenly stopped holding back, shoving Alex back and attempting to let go of her hands. Alex, feeling the center gravity going beyond repair, didn't let go, so both stacks went over, into the water.

Alex came up sputtering, shaking out a few strands of hair that had managed to escape her hair binder. Likewise, everyone else came up seconds later, either laughing and spitting water, or, if you were Torn, just smirking a little bit.

"So... who won that round?" Torn asked, being rather new to the game. Most ex. KG were not big on water because there had never been any training that required swimming. That would be the reason Artimus didn't know how to swim, and though Torn knew, he was inept in water games.

"It's called a tie, Torn." Loor smirked. "Which means were still two to two."

"You're goin' down this time!" Alex gave, a lot more confident than she had when she had first gotten into the water.

Loor grinned as she got back up onto Jak's shoulders, and Torn complied with helping Alex up onto his. It was a lot like fighting, but Alex didn't like fighting, so she didn't file it under that category. It was water wrestling. The boys squared off, and Loor made the first lunge, leaning forward and trying to push Alex, who moved back and then grabbed at Loor's wrist, giving a yank. The raven haired girl refused to go over that easy, pulling against her friend and regaining the captured appendage, going to get a hold on Alex's shoulders that was in turn batted away.

Their hands met in the middle, gripping and going into tug-of-war like the last session. Or push of war. However you wanna look at it. Loor was through holding back, throwing her weight to the side and pulling back, trying to let go so the gravity off-set would finish the job, but our brown haired friend refused to let go, recovering balance before pulling the same move and letting go.

Loor hadn't been able to re-gain her hold, and was thrown into the water, knocking over Jak, since she was pretty latched onto his shoulders.

"Holy Hanna, Alex and the tattooed love puppy won." Fury said this like some sort of sports announcer, miming a microphone.

"You owe me." Artimus muttered as Alex suddenly fell off of Torn's shoulders with a yelp. He chuckled, turning in the water and looking around for the brown haired goof ball as Loor was puling herself out of the pool to go see to her daughter. He didn't see Alex in the water, and nearly jumped as the girl popped up behind him, grabbing him around the shoulders and giggling.

"I got you!" She gave.

Torn only turned his head slightly, taking a hold on one of her wrists and pulling her around, hugging her around the middle. "Says who?"

"Hey!" Loor snickered from the side of the pool. "Keep it G rated!"

"Shuddup Loor, you were swearing up a storm during the first round!" Alex batted back.

"Yeah, but Lynn was tuckered out during that." Loor smirked. "You have to protect the virgin elfy ears!"

"...Elfy...?" Torn questioned, the word not being in his vocabulary. Jak, who was also getting out with Loor, looked back and shrugged.

"It's just a word that Loor uses." Alex said quickly, a patch-up. She knew that Jak was playing along, and sadly enough, Torn was the only one in the room that didn't know where the trio of girls had come from. Well, him and Lynn, but she wasn't old enough to understand.

"Yeah." Loor agreed before adding; "It's just how I refer to un-cut ears."

"Oh." Torn took them at their word, letting go of Alex and stretching, backing a bit more into the deep end. Of course she followed him, but had to kick off and start treading water because of her height disadvantage.

"Uh... I'm gonna get going." Loor gave, getting up and grabbing her towel. "Fury, you up for lunch?"

"Lunch?" Fury inquired, cocking her head. "Loor, it's still pretty earl-"

Loor shushed her friend by glaring at her and then pointing her nose at the fact that only two people were in the pool anymore, and the mental reminder that Alex was too shy to say anything with others around.

"...Uh... er... yeah, that sounds good. C'mon Artimus." Fury got up, getting her things together and giving Lynn back to her mom, the child snoozing once more. The guys grabbed their crap too, and thus left.

Alex thanked Loor in her mind for the kind act of clearing out, in case anything sweet was instigated, but being all by herself made her a little more nervous. She was sure any attempt at talking now would probably end up with her squeaking the words or saying something stupid.

"Has Loor gotten your papers in yet?" Torn asked, staying away from any personal conversation to try and put her at ease, getting into the deeper end of the water and starting to tread water himself.

"Yeah, she did it yesterday. I'll be going in for a photo ID once it's all processed and stuff... but I'm in the system now, so no one can arrest me." She giggled, her voice shaking a little bit, but that might have been the effort of moving in the water and talking at the same time. For her, that was like jogging and singing, two activities that didn't mix very often.

"That's good... and the job market?"

"Loor's gotten me a job app. for the animal care center in Old Haven... y'know, dog walking and keeping an eye on people's pets while they're on vacation..."

"You're good with animals, then?" He asked, getting to the far side of the pool and finding the curved edge with his feet to rest.

"I love animals." She smiled, latching onto the lip of the pool with her hands. "And not just the tame type. I've taken care of some of the more dangerous ones before, so I think I'll be able to handle myself."

"I liked animals when I was younger..." He shrugged, a half-hearted smile picking up on his face. "...When I was little..." He shook his head, chuckling. "Ah, never mind."

She gave him a look, and lifted a hand out of the water to poke him in the forehead. "Nu-uh! You better tell me now!"

"It's really stupid."

"So? If you tell me what it is I'll tell you something really dumb about me!"

He smirked. "Deal." He agreed, nodding. "Alright... when I was a little kid, before my dad forced me into the academy, my mom gave me a little croco-dog plushy because I had been begging for the real thing. She told me if I could keep that doll from any damage, she'd get me a real one when she thought I was ready."

"Aww... that's so cute." Alex smiled.

"I guess... A year later I was carted off, and I wasn't allowed to bring any of my stuff with me."

"Oh..." She went to hug him, and he returned it with one arm for a quick squeeze and two pats. "I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter." He said, dismissing the issue with a shrug. "Anyway, you were gonna tell me something stupid about you?"

"Oh yeah!" She started giggling. "Alright, this one time I was hanging out with Loor a way long time ago, and we were just hanging out in her room. She was at her computer, and I was laying on her bed, petting her muse, Bojo. I can't see too well in the dark, so I thought I was scratching his head, and it felt really muscular, so I'm like 'Loor, your cat has a really muscular head,' and Loor turns from her computer and goes 'Alex... that's his butt.'"

"...You molested her muse?"

"I didn't mean to!" She squealed, splashing him.

He splashed back. "Muse rapist." He gave a genuine smile.

She smiled back, giggling and letting go of the wall, swimming into open water. He followed her, still smiling. "By the way..." He gave, getting her attention. "You've got nice legs."

She could feel her face going red at the complement. Yeah, sure, Loor said it a lot, trying to boost her confidence... but to have a boy tell you that was a whole 'nother ball game. She didn't trust her tongue till she could touch her feet to the bottom again, getting stable and glancing back. "Um... thanks..."

He wasn't far behind her, taking a hold of her shoulder and turning her around to pull her back. Of course, he stood in deeper water, so she lost her footing, but he held her so she didn't have to kick to stay afloat. "Are you gonna come around tonight?" He asked.

"Do you mind?" She asked. "I-I mean I'd like to, but-"

He snickered, cutting her off. "I'm asking because I want you to."

Slowly, she smiled. "...Sure."

"You have a nice smile." He informed her.

"You do too." She giggled. "You should wear it more often."

No one, but no one, had noticed Torn's personal stalker had been in the gym all morning, the door wide open.

* * *

"...What is that?"

"A new outfit. You like it?"

"I'm noticing that you're showing off your legs for once, but that's not what I was talking about, I was talking about the thing you're holding."

"Oh? This? Just something for Torn."

"...Why would you get that for the tattooed wonder?"

"My little secret, Loor! Well... more like his little secret that he happened to share with me."

"Oh, this is one of those inside joke things, like the 'who's gym' joke."

"Not quite, but close enough."

"You know, he's gonna start questioning why his muse is always gone while you're around."

"Yeah, but he seems to be a pretty reality based person... I doubt he'd figure it out."

"He doesn't _need_ to figure it out, Alex, you need to tell him."

"I will! I just... have to find the right moment."

"I think the right moment was one of your dates, before he kissed you. Or maybe right after, so he knew what he was walking into. I know you're afraid of scaring him off, but if you pop this up too late the shock is gonna be too much for him."

"You act like he changes like you and Jak do."

"... You could say that."

"Huh?"

"It's something for him to tell you, but... Torn gets dangerous when he's overwhelmed. Either shock, anger, or pain, if you overload his mind, it's not gonna be pretty."

"How bad can it be?"

"Pretty bad Alex. I just hope you don't have to find out first hand."


	23. Oh Shit

This is the point in the story where we all go 'Oh Shit...' at the same time. -grins- Enjoy!!

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Sammich  
****Oh Shit...**

Torn almost jumped when Alex knocked on his door. He had been rather nervous, waiting for her, for the fact that he had actually made an attempt at looking nice for once. It wasn't like he was shaking or nothing. Like most military types, he viewed this as a challenge of sorts, which was not to be handled with sweaty hands. He had left his hair out of the wraps and clips for once, actually dragging a brush through it, though he doubted he'd ever be able to get anything to go in front of his hairline again after it had been forced back for so many years, and dressed simply in a dark red sleeveless and black pants.

Seeing Alex made him smile. She had also dressed for the occasion, her brown hair clean and brushed back out of her face but for one strip that came in front of her left ear and curled slightly under her chin, wearing a tight navy top with a black jacket over it, a matching black skirt going to her knees, the scarf he had given to her wrapped around her neck. She was wearing her black zip-ups, and he noticed that she was showing off her legs; not wearing leggings or tights.

He also noticed that she was holding something behind her back.

"Hi!" She greeted, smiling wide, waving as if he were several feet away.

"Hey." He smiled back, trying to see what she had. "Uh... what do you got there...?"

"Oh yeah!" She chirruped, as if she had forgotten, the smile going to a full-on grin. "Just something I picked up along the way."

"...that being...?"

"First things first, are you gonna let me in?"

"Sorry!" He chuckled at himself, moving out of the way. He tried to get a glimpse as she slipped past, but she made it so whatever was behind her eluded him.

"Alright then!" She grinned at him again; suddenly presenting the item that had been behind her back.

Honestly, Torn had not been expecting the fuzzy green thing she was holding out to him.

Staring at him was the googly-eyed gaze and the stitched grin of a toy one would usually present to a child of about the age of five. True, the fuzzy plushy was mainly green, lighter and darker shades mixed to made the pattern of scales, brown for the tuft of fuzz often found on the depicted animal's head, and touches of hard plastic for the little notches on it's tail.

It was a croco-dog stuffy.

"Alex... you didn't have to-"

"But I wanted to. Is it anything like the one your mother gave you?"

Torn slowly took the stuffed animal from her. He had to admit, it was a lot like the croco-dog stuffy that his mother had gifted to him before he would turn his head up at such things. He just nodded slowly, and went to hug her. He knew he had to look rather strange now; a grown man holding a stuffed animal, but he didn't really care. It was in the comfort of his own home anyway, so who was there to see it? Oh sure, Alex, but she didn't really seem to care for his tougher exterior.

"I'll take that as you like it..." She giggled.

"Yeah." He snickered, pulling slightly away to kiss her forehead before looking at the toy again, and then around at his apartment. "I just don't know where to put it without it looking stupid..."

"It's supposed to look stupid!" She grinned, nabbing the item from his hands and going to the shelf she had been rather preoccupied with the last time she was there. With ease, she got the little stuffed animal to stand behind the picture frames on the shelf. Had it been the real thing, it would be slobbering all over those pictures.

"I like it." He snickered, coming over and letting himself down on the couch. "It's... cute."

She turned to smile at him, and the bounded over to the couch almost, landing beside him and quickly glomping.

Torn placed a hand on her back that slid up her neck, tangling a bit in her hair before she ripped back from him, giggling. "The back of my neck is ticklish!" She squealed, her shoulders up to try and defend the vulnerable point.

He had been slightly apprehensive when she pulled back, as if he had hurt her, but then laughed lightly. "Oh... sorry."

"It's alright, just don't do it again!"

"Why not?" He smirked. "You're cute when you make that face."

Alex gave him a look, and then squinched up her face like she did when she was yelping at someone. "Like that?"

He snickered. "No, that's just funny."

She faked offense. "Did you just say my face was funny? Well, you're not much of a prince charming yourself!"

"Alex, I'm hurt." He joked back. "It's not my fault that you make your face look like a kangarat."

"Yeah, just like it ain't my fault that you've got just as much lovable charm as a rabid lurker."

Torn, not used to exchanging more than ten words a day, on average, with a single person, had no comeback to this. He made the attempt as far as opening his mouth, and just kinda let his jaw hang.

Five seconds later, they both broke out laughing.

"You're silly, you know that?" She informed him of this while leaning back on her side of the couch.

"Yeah, I know." He busied himself grabbing her foot, going to unzip the boots she was wearing. "So... wha'd you do today?"

She shrugged. "Not much. I set up my apartment, went with Loor to go and set up an account of my own. I've got my own money card now!" She grinned like this was some kind of big achievement. In her mind, it probably was. "I went and explored some more of Haven on my own, ended up with this new outfit and a few bits of street clothes... and then I came here after picking up our green friend over there."

She ended this overview of her day by gesturing toward the croco-dog stuffy on the shelf, which already seemed to be blending in with the rest of the apartment.

By now, Torn had yanked both of her boots off and she had tucked her legs underneath herself. In the few seconds of silence, Alex had sunk away from her goof-ball mood.

"Hey... Torn?" She asked, her voice sounding much smaller. She had become nervous. "I've heard a few people talking about you... Loor mostly, warning me that... I'm not quite sure, but she says that there's something... 'wrong' with you. It seems like everyone but me knows about it, but no one will tell me."

He had winced at the word 'wrong,' as if she was suggesting that he was broken, somehow. "Well... remember that guy that follows me around when I leave the apartment?"

"Yeah. You mentioned that you have a funky problem and he reports back to the FL when--"

"When I snap." He sighed. "Hopefully it's something you won't have to see, but it happens, so I guess you should know..." He tried to relax back against the arm of the couch, looking like he was a bit out of his comfort zone. "Well... you can imagine that growing up in the Guard isn't the best thing for a kid, and I know a lot of the guys who have all kinds of off-the-wall conditions about it. Truth is, I don't handle my emotions very well. I'm great at holding everything thing in, sure. You have to be when you could be facing the barrel of a gun every other day. It's... letting stuff out, that gets the better of me."

"Yeah... so? You get self destructive, right?"

"In the Guard, yes. Everyone did it. It was when I didn't work the field anymore that this problem came up. Still in the Guard... I can't quite remember what happened, but there was just a sort of build up of everything that was happening during one of the fast times... and I blacked out. When I came around, my hand was crushing someone's neck, and I had killed several other people in the room. In the Guard, that happened pretty often. Outside, a little less. Now I try to keep away from situations that will make that happen to me."

Alex nodded in understanding. "You don't want to hurt the ones you love."

He looked at her directly. He had been almost looking through her, explaining away the fact that he was a freaking berserker. Now, he looked at her, and it made her blush slightly. "Exactly. I thought once peacetime hit, I wouldn't have to worry about the problem anymore, but it still happens. Stress builds up, and sometimes it takes something small, like one of Ashelin's surprise visits at the office, to set me off. And it's not just stress. It can be anything..."

She had been listening rather intently, and her face suddenly lit up in understanding. "Oh, so that's why you act like you have an icicle shoved up your ass all the time to people you don't know. You don't know how to handle it, so you put the big wall up and try to hold everything inside and everyone else out."

He held up his hands in surrender. "Heh, you got me."

"You're not the only one..." She lowered her own head. "I mean, I don't do the weird snappy-explody-kill people thing, but I can understand walls and masks." She winced at the given up opportunity. She knew she could have said it just then. He had confessed, and yet she still dodged!

He looked at her with her head hung like that. He didn't like to see her like that, her chin on her chest, dejected. He couldn't help it, the instant urge to make her smile. He slid to her side of the couch, leaning over her and lifting her chin to try and get a look at her face. She hadn't noticed him moving over, and her face blanked as he slid a hand deftly on her left cheek, pushing that stray bit of hair back behind her left ear, fingertips lingering on the side of her face.

And then their lips met.

Alex was not quite sure what was going on at first. One second she and he were discussing mental problems, and the next... oh God, he was kissing her! What the crap? When did this happen?? Wha'd she miss???

It was two seconds later that she realized that she liked it, even more so as he eased her into opening up to him, giggling as the hand on her face lowered to tickle her neck, and then cup the back of her head. The feeling was all warm and fuzzy, and she could feel the muse inside of her; glowing and giving that chattering giggle.

The muse... that fuzzy, cute, glowing, giggling, red eyed muse that she felt so fully, as if it was coming to the surface.

Wait a second...

Alex pulled back from him, whimpering as she realized it was too late. She couldn't stop it now, and her only choice was the run. She had no idea what the look on his face was as she changed from human to fuzzy in less than a second, slipped out from under him, and made a break for the window that she knew was open.

_He saw me!_

* * *

"Where are you going?"

Loor glanced back to see that leaving the bed had woken up Jak, and sighed, pulling on a set of pants. "I can't sleep... my mind has been on overdrive for a couple of days now on that feelin' I've been getting, and I'm not gettin' anything."

"So you're going for a walk?"

"I'm going to talk to Vin."

Jak lifted himself from his pillow, hugging Loor around the shoulders. "You want me to come with...?"

"You're certainly welcome... but what if Lynn needs someone?"

He chuckled. "Good point. I don't think she'd bring much to a thinking session."

She turned to him for a quick kiss. "Love you."

"You too." He gave, settling back into the warmth of his previous spot. Loor got up though, seeking out a shirt and a set of socks, and then going down to the door to slip on her boots and out onto the street she went. It was dark by now, and she moved quickly. It wasn't that much of a safe neighborhood, not that she doubted herself if she had to cut some people out of her way. She just didn't feel like fighting, she felt like moving.

It was a short trip, seeing as she ended up jogging most of the way. When she got into the power room, she relaxed a little bit. "Vin? Buddy boy?"

Vin's hologram flashed to life at once in the blue wash of the room. "Hey Loor!" He greeted quickly, sounding happy for once. That is, till the various cameras in the room registered the look on her face. "...wait a moment... what's wrong?"

"I don't know yet Vin. I'm here to figure that out."

Vin sighed. "I guess this means I'm gonna have to pause my Tetris game..."

"Tetris?" Loor snickered, shaking her head. "Who'd ever guess...?"

"Hey, it's not my fault that tons of the stuff from your time is addicting!"

"Yeah, yeah, just like it ain't Torn or Jak's fault that the girls are just so lovable." Loor said this with sarcasm. "Listen, I've been getting a funky feeling of late that something is seriously wrong with Alex and Torn's relationship, but I can't figure out what."

Vin's face and simulated breathing paused for a second as various information loaded through his mind. "Define; Serious."

"I... I'm not sure. Like; could break them up, serious."

"Well, there's Torn's condition for one." Vin offered. "I mean, most people don't take hanging out with someone that would as soon look at them as snap their neck very well."

"No, that would never put Alex off." Loor had started to pace the width of the room. "She'd ask questions, get curious, and stuff like that."

"Well, then there's her-"

"I'm already stressing about that one Vin. Something else has escaped my interest... something that should be so obvious and I've probably already mentioned it... something that I should have known and freaked out about the second she got here... Some common denominator between the two of us. I know it applied to both of us, which means I musta' gotten over it, which means she can too. I mean, we're dealing with a problem that can be fixed, it just has to be identified..."

Vin shrugged. "Something obvious? C'mon Loor, you're pretty quick. You wouldn't miss that stuff, would you?"

"No, I would. Trust me Vin, when I'm looking for something, I'm practically blind. A condition that can't really be helped, but that's why an objective eye always makes the difference." She growled. "There's something to this game that I have to change though, or I'll never get it!"

She then paused. A word from her own rantings struck a cord in her mind, and she started pacing faster. "Wait... change... change is bad..." She kept thinking. The more she thought about it, the more she didn't like it. "Oh shit..."

"What?" Vin questioned.

"This is bad... this is really bad..." Loor went into explanation mode. "Alex is from my time, yes? But she never knew as much about this time as I did, also yes? But she's still an uncounted factor of events... If she's getting romancy with a main character, there could be problems. I mean, I told you about the precursors when we saw them, right? They said there are more adventures to come. Torn's been part of the last three, and he's so overprotective... I mean, just look back at what happened with the precursor stone! Torn betrayed the whole underground just to make sure the Baron wouldn't kill Ashelin!" Loor started smacking herself in the head, still walking frantically back and forth. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! I should have thought of this sooner! Alex is gonna be so pissed with me..."

"But I thought you saw Onin and..."

"I know we saw Onin! I know that Onin also welcomed her to stay, but I don't think the old crone was expecting our buddy Alex to go and get romantically involved with Torny-boy!"

"Loor, slow down, let's think abou-"

Loor snapped a look over at Vin's projected image. "I can't slow down! Are you kidding?! I have to go find Alex! Even if she is angry... it's for the greater good!"

Vin couldn't get another word out before she was gone.


	24. Thoughts

NEW CHAPTER!! -Dances- WHOO!!

BTW, I know the spelling for the various 'French' words that Corky uses are pretty damn wrong. It's just how it sounds to me. Sorry! ((Thank Alex for pointing that out to me before someone chewed my ass out for it!))

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Sammich  
****Thoughts**

Corky's night had been much like most other nights. He snuck out past Sara, made his way out of the slums, and went to the New Haven section to go through garbage cans. To be completely honest, he had found a particularly fruitful destination behind a fancy cafe of late, and was trotting away from said destination with the night's spoils in his jaw when some other creature suddenly plowed into him.

Opening his mouth to yowl, he lost the night's haul to the streets, getting up to quickly hiss and scowl at whatever had smacked into his side so hard. _"Where are ya goin' in such a hurry--?"_ He stopped short, seeing the other creature pick itself up.

_"Well, well, well, **Mon Cheri, **we meet again." _He snickered, suddenly forgetting his dropped meal. There were always other trashcans.

The black and red female muse that had smacked into him lifted from the ground, shaking her head and then looking at him, slightly confused before figuring out what the hell had happened. _"Oh... Hi Corky..."_ She managed after a moment, backing up the way she came.

_"What brings you here, Jules? I doubt you scrounge through garbage cans like I do." _Corky asked this quickly, jumping over her to cut off her retreat.

Jules rounded, keeping him in front of her, still looking like she was antsy to get moving. _"What? No! That's disgusting! I just need to go, alright?" _

Corky laughed lightly at her. _"Oh yes, sorry to be in your way, but if I have my scents right you're horribly distressed about something. Care to share?"_

She hissed at him to get out of her way, the fur on her back bristling up. _"No. Now out of my way before you're pissin' and eatin' out of the same hole!" _

_"Feisty!"_ Corky slowly moved to one wall. _"On you go then."_

She stared at him for a second, as if she hadn't been expecting him to move. It almost seemed that she wanted a fight. Well, if that was the case...

_"Move on!" _He gave, jumping forward and setting claws into her left hinds. At once she retaliated, ripping her rear away from him and pouncing, getting the ear she had damaged in their last violent encounter with her teeth and yanking, setting her own claws in his shoulders.

He threw her, rolling the front of his body to the side to drop her and putting both paws, with claws, on her chest and stomach. _"I said; move on, **Mon Cheri.** That is, unless you're going to indulge on my wanting to know what's got your tail up in knots."_

She gave him a look, and sighed, getting up and shaking off the dirt that had been collected by her back. _"It's..." _She sighed. _"It's Torn... he saw me."_

Corky took a few seconds to process this information. _"How did he react?"_

_"I don't know!"_ Thought muses were incapable of actually crying, the waterworks sounded in her voice. She was frustrated. _"I didn't stay long enough to find out! I realized I was about to change right in front of him and started running!! But... I... I could smell it almost... it was like he was angry... but... not quite. Something worse... much worse." _

_"He must have been as shocked as I was..." _Corky lifted his nose, as if he could catch some trace of the scent that Jules had named. _"Perhaps the shock was too much...?"_

_"You don't think I put him over the edge, do you?? I mean... he told me about it... but..."_

_"He was overdue... It wouldn't take much more than a light push, but I'm guessing that what you just gave his mind was a violent shove."_

Both sets of muse ears in the ally way lifted to the sound of sirens.

_"Ah, Haven authorities. Let's have a look-see, shall we?"_ Corky turned to lead the way before Jules could reply. Of course she followed after him, the blue and yellow feline moving quickly, following the wailing sound and managing to keep to the allies. _"A suggestion for you, lady, would be to never leave the safety of the shadows... Stray catchers are always around when you least expect it."_

_"Thanks for the tip Corky."_ She growled back, right on his tail as they left one ally to get across a busy street just to dive into another one. Before she knew it, she was at the base of the building that she had just run from.

She looked up to see the window she had escaped from, to see that it was shattered. _"Oh no..."_

_"Over there..." _He pointed with his nose to the front of the building. Sure enough, it would seem that the concept of a police force had actually caught on in this city, and though their colors were the same as the FL, they wore less armor and weren't decorated with tattoos. Two hefty zoomers had been left at the corner of the building, and a larger vehicle that made her think of a paramedic unit.

That's when the smell hit her again. It was much like the minor whiff she had caught in the few seconds that it took to clear the window and get to the ground, the hot, sick, salty smell of rage... but then there was the knife-sharp cold under it.

Corky made a strange sound. _"He hasn't come out of it yet? Usually his attacks only last a few moments, maybe fifteen minutes... but..."_

Jules whimpered as she finally saw the tattooed wonder. He was pretty much free of damage, but the way he _was_ scared her. First off, it was taking three guys that were actually bigger than our buddy boy to restrain him, then there was the fact that she could see blood on his knuckles, and the last thing was his face.

It was completely blank.

_"Looks like we missed the show." _Corky laughed lightly. _"They already have him in custody. Can't believe they got close with him like that... but hey, every day is full of little surprises."_

_"Surprises...?" _Jules looked back at Corky. _"That's my fault! That's not a surprise, that a disaster! They're probably carting him off to the loony bin for good and it's all my fault!!" _

Jules made to charge again, and Corky couldn't stop her. She moved quickly, taking streets instead of back ways. She needed to come up with a plan to fix this mess! Loor could help her! Not that she was one to go for help on a common basis, but Loor had been living here for a while, she probably had a better clue on how to fix this than Alex did.

By the time she had found her way into the slums she was panting, feeling burnt out and confused, glancing about. Every street looked the same. Which way...? She lifted her nose for it... eco and pine... She snapped her head to the left, and started sprinting again, unconsciously using her claws as she ran, digging further into the ground before bounding ahead. It gave her more grip, allowing her to make a sudden turn as her nose yanked her on a sharp right.

Loor was about three yards away, walking away from the charging muse, looking dejected. The muse didn't really care for this fact, launching from the ground and landing on her friend's back; claws first.

"Fuck!" Was the sudden curse of pain as the raven-haired female lifted her head, jumping, and then realized why her shoulders were now bleeding. "What the shit...? Jules? What are you...?"

At once, Jules started attempting to tell Loor everything, forgetting that Loor was incapable of understanding at the moment.

"Alright, alright, just hang on a second." Loor sighed, easing the feline off of her back and carrying her as she ran the rest of the way home. It wasn't that far, and once she was in the door she nabbed an extra blanket from the upstairs bathroom, going to the lower level and turning her back so that Jules could go back to Alex and situate herself to be decent.

"You can turn around..."

Loor turned to see her friend. Alex's condition was finally in full light, her face broken and tear stained, swallowed up by a big cream-colored comforter and shaking. "Alex, what happened?" Loor asked quickly.

She lowered her head. "He saw me."

"What?"

"He fucking saw me!" She snapped back. "I changed right in front of him and ran! And... a little bit later... I came back, and..."

Loor didn't need to hear anymore to understand that one. "Dear god, did he kill anyone?"

"It didn't look like it..." Alex's eyes locked onto her friend. "Loor, he hasn't come out of it yet! We have to fix this before he goes away for good."

Loor nodded in agreement. "And the relationship?"

She lowered her head again. "I'll have to do my best to fix that too..."

"Perhaps... you won't have to fix it."

"What...?"

"Listen... Alex... please don't hate me. I went and talked to Vin... and I figured out what was bothering me. Remember when I came home, I told you guys why I didn't want to go back, right? Because when I first arrived that I was informed that if I changed anything to the original story line... it could go for the worst?"

"Yeah... but you don't have to worry about that anymore... the precursors said so."

"I know Alex, but I'm taking about you. The precursors also said that there were more adventures to come. I mean... I know Onin welcomed you to stay, but... I'm not sure romancing with known factors of events is the best idea."

Alex felt like she was sinking. First, she had to find her boyfriend to bail him out of the loony bin, and then tell him that she couldn't see him anymore?? Well, not that he'd want to after that fiasco, but still! Sinking, frustrated, she growled as Loor suddenly became the enemy in her eyes. "So what the fuck am I supposed to do, just ignore what happened tonight and go on my merry way?!"

Loor wanted to snap back, but took a deep breath to avoid it, letting it go and making sure she was calm. "No. Right now, we both need sleep. Tomorrow, we clarify things with Onin, and then figure out what the hell we're gonna do about Torny-boy's predicament."

Alex still wanted to be angry, but she managed to straighten out her own thoughts before she snapped again, nodding. "...right..."

"Good. Now, do you have a way of getting into your own apartment, or did you leave your key with your clothes?"

"I didn't bring my key." Alex answered. "I wanted to try the fire-escape trick in my normal form, so I did. It's not as fun though."

Loor rolled her eyes. "Okay. So you can get back to your place..."

Alex suddenly disappeared from the blanket, Jules slinking out from under it to the floor as Loor went up to the middle landing to open the door for her, and then go back upstairs. The room was dark, of course, but Jak was sitting up.

"That sounded like it went well." He muttered.

She giggled, pulling off her shirt and sitting down. "Heh... ya don't say?" She lowered her chin to her chest. "I hate Sundays now..."

"It's past midnight." He reminded.

"Yeah, but I already hated Mondays. I needed a new day to hate."

"Oh..." He snickered, laying back and rolling over. Obviously, he was tired. Shit, they both were, welcome to being a parent. She didn't bother to get her pants off, removing her own socks with her toes and putting her head back on the pillow. It was easy, from there, to force herself into her own restless mind. It was the only place that she could still talk to Lyra for the time that she was still staying away from eco, and the only place that she could talk to Sariea at all.

Sometimes, she missed having Lyra just randomly break into her thoughts through the day.

**_Evening Loor..._**

She opened her eyes to be comforted by the usual rounded room that the three of them communed in. It hadn't changed much since the war. Lyra, who had just greeted her, was up on the loft that ringed the area, ears pricked forward, tail hanging off and swaying, looking bored as she clawed into one of the dark purple pillows cast about the place, her violet tunic half open and nearly exposing her... womanly chest. Sariea was relaxing in a corner, a navy blanket from the thoroughly bedded room cast over her knees, her powder blue tunic tightly closed, her white eyes casting lazily up.

"Morning." Loor corrected, sighing and plopping down into a pile in the center of the room of her own green pillows, matching her own tunic. "Monday Morning, no less..."

_You're sounding rather unhappy about this._ Sariea noted, her white eyes getting a little less lazy.

"Just the feeling that the shit has only _begun_ to hit the fan." She groaned. "I mean, I knew she was gonna be pissed, but the same night? Gawd..."

**_Loor, do you care to elaborate on that, or are you just going to rant at the ceiling?_**

"Elaborate, Lyra?" Giggling lightly, she sat up. "Okay, elaboration, remember our little issue with my buddy Alex and her new boyfriend? He just found out about the muse thing, lost it, and hasn't picked up the pieces yet. At the same time, I finally figured out what the hell was bothering me, which just makes matters worse, and now I've got to take this ugly bag of snakes and lay 'em straight before the whole situation goes any further into hell!"

_Rough night._ Sariea commented, getting up and stretching.

"You're tellin' me..."

**_Maybe you shouldn't be going little miss leader on all of this, then._**

"Come again, Lyra?"

The black haired beast leapt down from the loft, coming over to her host. **_I mean, it's her situation, right? Why don't you let her figure it out for herself?_**

"Because she's my friend. I can't just act like I don't care about her."

**_Yeah, but she might come off a little less miffed at you in the end._**

"In the end, whether she's miffed at me or not doesn't matter. All that matters is that she does the right thing, and if some things have to be sacrificed for that to happen, so be it!"

_The right thing at any cost?_ Sariea questioned. _Even hers? Friendship means quite a lot to a person. Ripping it away may not be a smart thing to do._

Loor growled at the both of them. "Guys, I honestly don't need to be thinking anymore. I'm already pretty sure that Alex has gone home and freshened up the scars on her wrists, Torn is sitting somewhere in a straight jacket, and there's nothing I can do about either of them at the moment. She makes her own choices, and... well... helping out in a war doesn't really give you enough diplomatic immunity to kidnap someone from a loony bin."

Both of her alter egos nodded, backing away to leave Loor to her thoughts.

Just her thoughts.

* * *

For once, Loor was wrong.

What about, may you question? Well, it would be her assumption that Alex went home and took a razor to her wrists. Oh yes, she knew where the blades were. She knew that she wanted to do it, but somehow managed to practice some sort of restraint. Maybe it was a trick of her mind to keep her from doing it, some fading thought that tomorrow things were gonna get better.

Of course they were gonna get better. They couldn't get any worse. So she got home, changed away from the muse form, shut the window, got dressed, and crawled into the queen sized bed that Loor had set her up with. The blankets felt like silk, and the comforter was black, and the pillows matched the blankets in a dark red. It felt kinda good, burrowing her face into those pillows, wiping away the tears that had accumulated.

She didn't fall asleep right away, left alone with her mind. She wanted to be angry with Loor for her mood right now, but the truth was is that most of her mood was her own fault. Her own accident, of changing in front of him. Aw, who was she kidding? It was going to happen sooner or later.

If only she had told him when she had the opportunity...

She growled, biting her pillow and burrowing her nose a bit deeper. She was dragging her nails across her wrists in commemoration of old habits as her brain depicted the exact location of the razor she had used to shave her legs the day before. Still, she didn't have the energy to get up and get it.

Tomorrow! She could wait till tomorrow, couldn't she? Just till tomorrow, then everything would get better! This wasn't like before. Before... there had been no escape, no; the sun'll come out tomorrow, before. Before it had just been her and the beast that was her mother that made her hurt herself.

She was stronger than that now, wasn't she? Wasn't she better than that?

Yes... just for tonight, she was.

She felt herself finally settling into sleep when... there was a sound. It was the sound of claws on glass. She had heard it before, the sound that Bojo's claws made when he would paw at Loor's window to be let in. Slowly, she slid out of her bed, turned the corner to where the window was, and stared.

Corky sat outside, eyes big, begging to be allowed inside.

Alex allowed a small smile to her lips, opening up the window and letting the muse bound to the floor. "Hey Corky..." She yawned. "What did you want?"

_"Just wondering how things are."_ He mewed back as she left the window open, poking her head out to smell the air. It was humid... like it was going to rain soon.

"I'm not quite sure now..." She sighed. "G'night."

Alex was too out of it as she drifted back to her room to figure out that Corky had followed her. The muse curled up next to her, and she hugged him, her mind thinking he was some sort of teddy bear.


	25. Friendly Disturbance

New chapter!! –does the new chapter dance- 'Cept... this chapter has the one, and ONLY, death that will occur in this story. Enjoy!

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Sammich  
****Friendly Disturbance**

The New Haven Hospital had seen it's fair share of just about everything. It was the first hospital built after the KG was torn down, treated various leading agents through out the history of the war, seen a great many deaths, quite a few births, and every condition between. It was the same hospital that Loor stayed at while comatose, and when she gave birth to Lynn. It was a fair size too, comprising of five floors and two basement levels, though the lowest was mainly storage and records. Aside from that, one could take note of the friendly nurses, skilled doctors, and the fact that the whole place had recently been let go from military control.

Still, I'm not sitting here to type up reviews on a hospital. I'm here to point attention at the first basement floor, which was, exclusively, a mental ward. Yep, padded rooms and straight jackets included.

I'd also be bringing attention to a particular padded room and a particular occupant that was wearing one of these straight jackets. This guy had a visitor at the grand time of one in the bloody morning. They might have told her that the visiting hours were from eight AM to ten PM, but most people don't have the guff to tell off the City Baroness.

Ashelin had made a point of coming down to this place at such an early hour, just to see him. No one was in the halls anyway, and the security guard watching video feeds knew she was going to be passing through. It felt like walking through a prison, to be honest. Most of the people in those rooms were just sitting in a corner, staring at the ceiling, waiting for nothing.

He was doing it too; only he was sitting in the middle of his room, looking at a wall with a blank face.

"...Torn?"

No response. She knew it was like talking to a brick wall, but she couldn't help it.

"I heard that you... ripped apart your apartment..." She stared through the little window on his door. "...It's strange... I know you can't hear me and I still want to talk... the doctors say that your mind might be gone for good..."

She stared as his head moved slightly, away from the wall, to stare at her. It was blank as ever, his dark eyes looking fairly dead. The picture was pretty scary. Still, it gave Ashelin a spark of hope.

"Torn...? Babe? Can you hear me?"

Slowly, the tattooed wonder lifted himself from the floor. It was a task done without his hands, because of the jacket. Once up, he walked over to the door.

Ashelin ignored how dead his gaze was, breaking out into a huge grin. "I knew it! You just needed a friend around to bring you out of it! C'mon, speak to me."

Torn stood in front of his door now, still blank, staring at Ashelin without any emotion. He simply stared, like a dead fish, before he recoiled slightly to slam his forehead into the glass of the window. At once, Ashelin threw herself back, yelping as the wired square of glass cracked around the impact, a few shards going to the floor as the male on the other side of the door backed off, his head bleeding. At once, there were several men in the hall; one going to Ashelin to make sure she was okay, the other two to make sure the patient was still contained.

Strangely enough, once he had driven Ashelin to cowering on the opposing wall, he sat back down in the middle of the room, staring at the wall again, not seeming to notice the slow dribble of blood down his forehead that would drip off of his nose.

Ashelin left quickly, an angry glower replacing the look of concern that had been on her face walking in.

* * *

"You're kiddin' me, right?"

_"Loor, I wish I were, but we both know I'm not the joking type."_

"That is such bull! C'mon Pecker, the one-week I leave off, and she kicks the bucket? Was it just last night?"

Loor felt rather frantic at the moment, on her way to Alex's apartment when her comm. had started making all kinds of noise. Of course she had answered it to find Onin's colorful interpreter looking very sad. Why? Well... Let's just say Onin left without a two-weeks notice.

_"This morning."_ The bird muttered.

"Pecker, I needed her!"

_"Well we can't live forever, 'eh?!" _The bird snapped, the line going dead.

Loor slowly slipped the little unit back into her pocket, her brain scattered on what to do now. Onin was like... their authority on everything, and all of the sudden... she was just gone.

Well, she was kinda old... It just felt like she'd be around forever. Half of Loor's mind was morning heavily, but the other half was far ahead of that. Without Onin, there was no surefire way of knowing which was to go with the 'Torn' situation. As much as Loor would love to let Alex loose, it just didn't feel right...

Still, she had to break it to her friend.

It was strange, gathering up one's bravery for such a task. Oh sure, Loor had faced some scary things in her lifetime, ranging from metal heads to evil cyborgs bent on world domination to parenthood, but she still got sweaty palms when it came to being the bearer of bad news for Alex. Getting to the girl's building and knocking on her door was the easy part.

The door opened to show Alex, who seemed to have just rolled out of bed. She was dressed in a black camisole and baggy pants, her hair flopped over and her eyes half shut. "...hey Loor..." She yawned. "Time to go already?"

Loor sighed, lowering her head. "Not quite..."

"Huh...? I thought we were gonna go..." She yawned again. "...fix this thing."

"Listen, Alex, I just got some bad news... Pecker called me this morning..." Loor winced. She had troubles thinking about it again. "Onin... was discovered dead in her sleep this morning."

Alex's half asleep mind simply nodded this fact off. "That's nice..." Five seconds later, she caught up with what Loor was saying, and adrenaline shot through, waking her up. "Wait, what??"

"Yeah, I didn't believe it either."

"So what do we do now??"

"I don't know, Alex. I... I'm not sure. I don't think we can do anything."

"We can do plenty! It's the question of if we should!"

"I don't know, Alex!" Loor repeated. "Alright, I just don't know! And I don't like doing things without knowing... honestly... I think we should back off and let this item resolve itself."

"What?!" Like the night before, Alex had the rug pulled out from under her, and Loor was the object of attention. Only this time, there was no way for Loor to save herself, no alternate plan of action that would stop Alex once she went onto that train of angry words. "We can't just back off! I made this mess, and I gotta fix it!"

"Alex, I understand your feeling of responsibility about this, bu-"

"But what?! 'You don't know?' It's always about what you know, isn't it?! You just don't want anyone else here! You just can't take anyone else being happy, can you? No, something has to be wrong so you can play mom!!" Alex felt the fire coming up, rage taking over. "That's it, you wanted these adventures all to yourself!! You probably set Chelsea up to die the first time around and brought her back out of guilt, and you're gonna do the same to me! Well I've got two words for you, bitch; FUCK OFF!"

Loor took a step back as the door slammed in her face, gasping slightly. "Alex, that's not what I-"

"GO AWAY!"

Staggering back, Loor feet finally turned to the side of the hall and got to stepping. Alex could hear it, the little thuds of her footfalls, as she went back into her bedroom and fell on her bed, sobbing.

_"That was quite the display."_

"Shut up Corky..." She groaned into a pillow. "Just go away."

_"Please tell me you didn't mean all of that... She's your friend for goodness sakes, she's just trying to-"_

"What, ruin my life?" Alex snorted, hugging the pillow that she had buried her face in. "She has a problem with every little thing I do. Ever since I got here, she's all warnings and precautions. Doesn't she trust me not to fall flat on my ass?"

_"Well, in all honesty, that seems to be what's happened. I doubt you'll go talking to her, Alex, but may I suggest a different friend? Someone whom you don't know quite well yet?"_

Alex gave Corky a look, as if to say 'what's the use' to such a thing, but she thought on it. She did know someone...

Wiping her face, she managed herself off of her bed and went to go get dressed in a tight long sleeved black shirt, not bothering to change out of her night pants, grabbing her key card and going to the door. Corky trotted to follow her, but she looked down and shook her head.

This was something best done alone.

* * *

"What the...?"

At eight in the morning, most people do not answer their door if you're not expecting someone. On the other hand, our buddy Ryan was not quite your average person. For those who knew him better, Ryan would welcome a blood covered ax murderer at two in the morning if he asked to come in, as long as he was polite. So, obviously, the platinum blond homosexual was rather quick on opening the door.

He wasn't expecting the vertically challenged person on the other side. "Alex...?"

The brown haired girl took very little time in glomping him, burrowing her head into his stomach. Through his shirt, he could feel a slight damp on her face. Had she been crying the whole way here?

Her voice was a little squeak, as if she were some small animal that had just avoided a close call with a very large vehicle. "...I hate you..."

Ryan snickered, patting her back. "That's nice hon. You wanna come in?"

She nodded against his stomach, not speaking. Without asking, he bent slightly to lift her off her feet and closed the apartment door with his back.

"Ryan...?" Mikey came from deeper in the apartment to see Ryan setting down on the couch, practically cradling Alex like a mother would a child. "Heh..." The Gothic-looking boy came around to sit by the odd couple. "It looks like you've gained some weight, buddy."

"Yeah, about a hundred pounds of love sick, I think." Ryan was gently petting Alex's hair. "Alex, you wanna tell us what happened, hon?"

"That's Alex under there? You can't tell, she's curled up so tight."

Despite her mood, their teasing earned a quiet giggle. "Like a hedgehog..." She muttered.

"She's alive." Ryan gave a slight, almost girlish, giggle, gathering up the girl in his lap. "You gonna show your face any time soon? I know it's very pretty."

"...not right now..." She sniffed, forehead still on her knees.

"That's what you think. I'm sure it's still a nice face. A few tears never spoiled mine, it's not gonna spoil yours."

Slowly, Alex lifted her head, blinking away water to first see Mikey, who was smiling with something like pride at Ryan, who she looked at next.

She hefted a sigh, nuzzled herself against Ryan once more, and went on to explain everything. Through this explanation of everything, she found out that Loor had informed Ryan about _when_ they were from. Apparently Ryan was a trustworthy person. It was good though, because that avoided awkwardness about Loor's little premonition and such. Of course, Alex tried to tell _her_ version of events, of how Loor was a bitch and just trying to jerk everything away from her, but Ryan was quick to see through it and correct her mind. Loor wasn't like that, and all three people on that couch knew it. She was just paranoid. Alex had trouble defending the point, as it had only been rooted for a short time. Had she thought longer, she would have come up with all kinds of 'evidence' of how Loor was the worst person on the planet, but she didn't have that time.

That was a good thing.

Both Ryan and Mikey already knew about Torn's recent attack, and gave Alex the overview of what had happened. Quite simply, Torn had snapped and ripped the place apart. No, he didn't kill anyone, but he'd be getting quite a few damage fines from the apartment building when he came back home.

If he came back home.

By the time Alex was done with her story, it was Ryan's turn to fill her in on the fact that Torn was still yet to come out of it.

"It's really strange." The blond sighed. "I mean, sure, those attacks he has are strange enough, but it's like he's gotten stuck."

Mikey nodded. "Yeah. Maybe his mind is really gone this time. Now, I admit that Torn's a bit of a pain, but... I'd get to missin' his yelling after a while."

Even though Alex had managed to clear herself up, this was not helping her. "Guys!! Don't talk like that... I mean, what usually brings him out?"

Both boys looked at each other, and shrugged. "He just... does." Ryan gave. "It's a matter of calming him down... getting him to relax long enough for rational thought to take over again."

"What does he do while he's still... y'know?"

Mikey snickered. "Not much. Basically, if it moves, it dies. His mind still recognizes friend and foe, but they get about the same treatment. It's just that he'll chase after someone he doesn't like."

Alex nodded, lowering her head again. She was still in Ryan's lap, and was rather comfortable. Still, she forced herself up.

"What are ya gonna do now, hon?"

She glanced at the guys. "I think it's time to fix this."


	26. More Like The Old Days

Okay, we're back with the new chapter, and I have but one note. Yes, I am aware that Alex acts like she has a bad case of ADHD, but Loor corrects it down to ADD because of the fact that my friend Alex was never diagnosed with ADHD, only ADD, so I'd probably get yelled at if I posted anything but the known facts. Goodness knows I've tried to argue this with the real Alex before… trust me, there's no changin' her mind. Oh yeah, and I know Jakkie-boy was kinda quiet in this chapter. I just couldn't think of anything for him to say. Sorry!

Oh well.

No ownage 

OWTF!!!

**Sammich  
****More Like The Old Days**

Loor's walk home started out sad, went to peeved, and ended in the realm of angry. How could Alex believe that? After all that she had done for her? Loor was sure she had been nothing but honest, and she got screamed at by her best friend!

Her anger was pulled back, a cool wash going over her skin as Sariea reminded her that Alex had a bit of a right to be mad. Snorting and shaking the feeling off, she kept moving, trying to gather her mind properly.

She couldn't manage it. In all honesty, it was impossible to get her thoughts together because she kept flashing on Alex telling her to fuck off. She'd seen Alex before, but she would slam the door before screaming. The situation was obviously different.

_Yeah, no shit._ Loor snorted at herself. _Your friend got in a serious relationship. That'd be pretty different. _

Loor got inside to find Jak in the lower level with Lynn, laying on one of the old underground bunks. She knew he'd ask, and forced a smile, wiping her face quickly. A tear or two had been shed on the way home, but Loor was pretty sure she was clear by now. Making her way downstairs, she sat by her spouse and her daughter, putting a hand on the snoozing baby's head, rubbing lightly while looking at Jak, the smile becoming less forced and more natural.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Alex got angry at me." She answered with a shrug, pulling Lynn up to her arms and hugging her. "I told her about Onin and then told her that we were better off letting things happen as they come..."

He sighed, sitting up. "Yeah, Pecker called and told me about her..." He trailed off. He didn't need to name the fact that Onin was dead. It looked like he felt the same way about it that Loor did, the way it felt that Onin was always gonna be around.

Loor sighed lightly, the frown coming back. "There's just no easy way, is there?" She questioned, not really meaning for it to go anywhere. "I'm seriously worried about her now, but if I go to her I'm only gonna make it worse, but if I leave her alone it'll get worse anyway... there's no way up."

"Maybe you should send someone else to her."

"Like Ryan?" Loor giggled. "I know that he'd have some way of bringing her back to grips with the world, for sure, but I don't think it'll be necessary. No... I think we wait now."

"Why...?" Jak was giving her a funny look, a single eyebrow raised.

"Simple. If Alex wants help, she'll find it. If she don't, there's not a damn thing anyone can do. Then there's the factor that I just told you what's going on."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Simple Jakkie boy." Loor snickered lightly, leaning back, still holding Lynn. "It seems whenever Alex got mad at me, or anything happened back at home, the second I told someone else, it cleared up. Sure, she was screamin' at me before, but for some reason that I don't know, the second I tell someone something; it's not allowed to be true anymore. My mum calls it Murphy's law."

"Wow..."

She gave him a look. "Wow what?"

"Married and with child, and I'm still learning stuff about you."

"Is this a bad thing?"

"Not really." He shrugged. "Keeps it interesting. So what's Murphy's law?"

"If you say something will happen, it won't. If you think something won't happen, it will. It's a way of telling someone to keep their big mouth shut."

"And it always works with you?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, usually. Sometimes, I say things out loud just for that reason, as if it's gonna push things the other way, or make some sort of difference."

There was a comfortable silence as he lifted her up from the old mattress, hugging her from behind and smiling over her shoulder at Lynn. It was a form of pride, really, to be seeing a child that you knew would not exist if not for you. He was happy to have both of them, and the silence was something they both understood. He and Loor were to the point that they could communicate better though eye-tag than words in some situations.

The silence was pierced by the beeping sound that alerted the trio that someone was knocking on the 'wall' that was their door. Giggling, Loor got up, giving Lynn back to Jak and going upstairs. She checked the video feed.

"Alex." She greeted when the door opened. It was a slow greeting, a careful one, as if testing the waters to see if they had calmed or were still a raging storm.

"Hi Loor!" Alex returned, nearly jumping up and down, waving wildly.

Well, that answered that question.

"I'm sorry about this morning." Loor said quickly, still trying to patch up. "I overreacted."

"So did I." Alex retorted, pushing past her friend. "So are you gonna help me or not?"

Loor stared at her friend for a few seconds. It was a type of crossroads.

She grinned. "Let's do this."

* * *

"The first thing we need to do is consider the situation. Torn is stuck there until he comes out of his little rage, which could take any amount of time if we let him do it on his own. I don't know anyone better for the job of calming someone down but their closest friends, but I've already called the hospital. No one can visit him."

"Why not?" Alex pipped, sitting on the stairs going up next to Jak, who was just there to watch was Loor paced back and forth on the middle landing, bobbing Lynn and thinking.

"Apparently Ashelin paid buddy boy a visit. Torn recognized her as someone he didn't want to see and nearly busted down the door trying to get at her. They consider him too unstable for visitors right now. If you wanna go see him, Alex, we're gonna have to step over a line of legality."

"So?"

"I thought you'd say that... problem is, I don't know how, or when, you'd be able to get in. The mental ward has cameras and guards like a prison, and most hallways are pretty wide-open with nothing to hide behind. Maybe a year or two ago, me and Jakkie boy would have no problem with running in and smacking everyone around, busting down the door and dragging the hostage back out while repelling enemy gun-fire, but these days... diplomatic immunity kinda expires with the war times."

"So you're gonna have to go covert." Jak summed up for her.

"Covert?" Alex questioned. "Liked covered?"

"Sorta, Alex. Like we don't want nobody seein' us. It's almost breaking and entering, only there's no breaking involved."

"So what are we gonna do?" She pressed.

"Right now...? I'm not sure..." Loor shrugged. "I need a map."

Alex started bouncing again. "Ooooh! I know! I know! We need the sparkles!!"

"The sparkles...?" Jak questioned, scooting away from Alex a little.

"She means Vin, and that's a wonderful idea. He's probably got a detailed blueprint of the place in the database." Loor giggled. "Just a sec, I'll get my bag. You guys can get going and I'll catch up."

Alex did as Loor said, getting up and moving, but Jak followed her as she went upstairs to grab Lynn's bag.

"Feels like the old days, don't it?" She gave, not looking back, knowing he'd followed her up.

"It's a good feeling." He snickered. "Though I think this is a little less serious than the old days."

"Still gets the adrenaline goin'." She muttered, getting the bag from their room and shouldering it.

"For you, maybe. They way you were talking about it downstairs, you'd think that we were about to enter a war zone."

"Might as well." she batted back, turning and grinning at him. "This is Alex, remember? She's gonna be going by herself, probably, and it takes as much as her passing by one shiny thing and it's game over. I mean, sure, it's not quite life or death, but I've seen her with him..." She trailed off. "She's fallen for him, and I think he's fallen for her. If this doesn't go well... heart break won't even begin to cover it."

"Author." He snipped as she passed, poking fun at how over dramatic she got.

"Beast." She batted back, turning to give him a quick kiss on the cheek and running the rest of the way. Well, running as fast as a person with a child could go. Alex had beaten them to the power station, and was being entertained by a random hologram that Vin had brought up of a glowing game of ping-pong where the players were invisible. Still, Loor was all businesses, walking right into the middle of the hologram and watching as both paddles faltered, the ball flying off of the table.

"Geez, Loor, you don't have to look so angry." Vin scoffed, the hologram changing to the form he had owned while living. "It was either that or watching her run around like a muse with ADHD."

"ADD," Loor corrected, seeing as both her and Alex were affected by a case of Attention Deficit Disorder, only Alex had a much heavier case. "And we have other things to do than be playing games."

"What, Ashelin get usurped?" Vin joked. "Is war gonna break out again?"

Loor didn't laugh.

Vin suddenly went to his paranoid side. "L-L-Loor!! Don't tell me--"

"No, Vin, there's no brewing war, I just need a little help for an operation that may or may not be considered legal."

"...what?"

"You have access to medical records, don't you?"

"Yeah, so what? That's public information. It's not illegal to look at that stuff."

"Would you be so kind as to look up our buddy Torn in the mental ward?"

Vin grinned. "Come _on_ Loor. You walk in with that look on your face and I think you had a challenge for me." He motioned a glowing hand, a 3D file icon appearing mid air. The folder scrolled through several labels before it finally read 'Torn Reash,' and dropped open. Of course there were several pictures and various articles on his other attacks that moved out of the file and arranged themselves all around the room. Loor glanced at this display, and gave a look to Vin.

"That's very cute, Vin, but I'd just like to see the information on the latest installments if you don't mind, with minimal goofing."

Vin gave her a look. "Well sorry for being creative." He huffed, the visuals of all the other files snapping out of existence, which made Alex jump a little, a single set of 'papers' and pictures presenting themselves to Loor, who walked up to where they were displayed mid-air, motioning Alex over while reading.

"Vin, put this through a filter real quick. I'd like it in pre-calamity English."

Alex, who had just scampered over, watched as the little precursor characters twisted and changed to something she could read. It was a basic description of everything they already knew about the recent attack, but Loor was looking near the end of the document, arriving at the information she wanted far before Alex had gotten past all the legality stuff at the top. "Ah... here we go. His room number... he didn't have anything with him... his doctor's name..."

"Loor, you could have just asked for that stuff directly." Vin reminded.

"I prefer to see things with my own eyes." Loor retorted, pointing the needed information out to Alex. The room Torn was in was B113, his doctor someone under the name of Scorp.

"Vin," Loor glanced up. "We need to get into that room without detection."

"Oh, so that's your questionable legality issue."

"I'd appreciate it if you'd give me a detailed map of the place real quick, all floors."

Everyone jumped this time as Torn's file snapped out of the visible world, but Vin also dimmed down the rest of the light, a large fully 3D model of the building taking the place.

"Whoa..." Loor muttered.

"Cool." Alex muttered, looking around, standing in the middle of the hologram, her nose sitting on the line defining the forth floor. She moved out of the way as Loor started looking at it.

"Highlight the room."

In the first basement, as there were two basement floors, a little cube glowed brilliant red.

"Camera paths."

Several sections of the halls lit up green.

"When are the patrols gone?"

"Between ten PM and five AM." Vin answered.

"Midnight is our best guess then... plenty of time, and sure to be out of human reach."

"I can't touch those cameras, Loor."

This caught the intent teen off guard, making her look up. "What?"

"They can track it. I'd be deleted within seconds if I even thought about deactivating those cameras."

"Damn security..." Loor muttered. "Okay, we can't walk in..." She kept thinking. She had to play this to Alex's abilities...

Wait a second.

"Vin, give me the ventilation system please."

At once, hundreds of paths highlighted in blue through the building. Loor was still intent on it, smirking now. There was a shaft that connected directly to Torn's room, as luck would have it. "Mark an outside entrance closest to the destination, and give me the most direct path."

This occurred in orange, an intake vent on ground level that went straight in. Anyone inside that shaft would have to take only a few turns.

"Loor, I don't understand. Those vents aren't big enough for people."

Loor grinned up at Vin. "I know. I'm not going in. I'd say muse could fit in there easy, perhaps carrying a blanket."

"Why would a muse have a blanket?" Alex asked, behind Loor.

Loor gave Alex a look. "So when it changes back it'll have something to cover up with."

"Changes back to what?" Alex asked, sounding rather clueless till... "Oh, I get it! Wait, I have to go in there??"

"He's your boyfriend." Loor batted back. "That is, unless you're backing out."

"Nu-uh!" Alex snapped back.

Loor glanced over to Jak, who had stood silent through this whole ordeal, as Lynn woke up, cooing. "Just like the old days." She giggled.

In a way, it was.


	27. I'm Sorry

AHHH!! I'm so sorry everyone! I've been gone for a week and… well, yeah. Kinda a vacation thingy.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Sammich  
****I'm Sorry**

"Loor!"

"What Alex?" Loor sighed, looking at her friend. They'd go together to the vent's opening, but Alex would be on her own there in. "I came along so you _wouldn't_ chicken out."

"I know! And I'm not gonna... It's just, how am I gonna know the way in there?" Alex was clutching a blanket, a purple fuzzy thing that belonged to Loor. The girl had one just like it back at home, and Ryan had gotten it for her once he heard the story of how Loor scored it off of her mom because the blanket was originally pink. It had been rather sweet of him, and Loor named the blanket after him.

"Simple." Loor answered. "I take it that your comm. is still at Torn's apartment, so we borrowed a dummy model from our friend Vin." The raven-haired girl, who had left Lynn with Jak for this little adventure, reached into a pocket for the object. It looked like a normal unit, just a little smaller without a display screen. "It'll receive, but it won't send. As a muse, you can carry it around in your mouth, and I can give you directions using the map that Vin sent to mine."

"Oh, okay..."

"But you won't need it for a while, so it's best to keep it off. It may be a hospital, but everyone in this city is paranoid. There could be tracers, and it won't take long for them to realize that the signal is coming from inside the building's infrastructure. I'll watch your position on the map, and call you when you need it. Half of your trip is straight in, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"But Loor..." Alex was nervous, obviously. "Are you sure this is the only way?"

"It's the best one I know. The plan may have a few holes in it... but I didn't say it was perfect. Just don't get weird about anything in the vents."

"Like..." Alex looked apprehensive.

"Alex, there are floor vents in this place where all kinds of loose change and dirt get swept in, not to mention that spiders and such would probably take a home in there since no one really touches it."

Alex suddenly clung to her friend, yelping. "NOO!! I hate spiders!!"

Loor growled, coming to a stop and looking down at Alex. "Do you want to help Torn?"

She nodded, making a little 'uh-huh' sound.

"Do you realize that you're the only one in the group who can get in there?"

The same noise and nodding.

"Are you going to do it?"

There was a pause, and Alex slowly unhooked herself. "Alright... but if I see I spider I'm charging through."

"Right..." Loor rolled her eyes as they arrived at their destination. The hospital was in New Haven, and they had gone around to the back where Loor made easy work of the grate over the intake vent, and the air-handling equipment. While she was, Alex changed to Jules. Loor worked a hole in for her friend, who darted through with the blanket in her teeth, sticking her head back to look at her friend with big eyes.

"Hold still for a second..." Loor gave, taking the blanket out of her jaws. Her first move was to tie the four corners together, and then situate the resulting sack around Jules's neck, sticking the dummy model comm. into this little pouch. "Good luck."

Jules mewed at her friend, turning to scamper in.

The first thing that Jules had issues with was light. It was dark in there! The natural light that came from the hole she entered by just made it all the more creepy, but there was light ahead, from vents in rooms where the lights were still on, so she'd deal with her instant fear of the dark, trying not to trip over her satchel every five steps. She figured out a rhythm of it after a while, how to step it around it, and kept her head forward, ears down, and tail out. She was trying to be alert for anything that might come at her. Spiders, loose change swept into the path, dust bunnies. You name it.

She missed her rhythm, being distracted, and tripped, mewing loudly. She quickly got up again, making three steps before tripping once more.

Now, little did Jules know, there was a janitor just under the ceiling she was walking in, following the continuous sound of her paws on the metal, wondering what the hell the feline sound was on the fourth sound from each set. _Tap, tap, tap, THUMP! Tap, tap, tap, THUMP! _Obviously, said janitor was looking up at the ceiling with a serious 'What the fucking hell????' look on his face. He was also following the hall under the sound, abandoning his cart of supplies, looking dumbfounded.

He was so dumbfounded and confused and shocked, he walked right into the wall when the hall turned, but the vent didn't.

At this point, Jules had forgotten about her fear, managed to start padding through, tripping less, mewing the 'Mission Impossible' theme, trotting like a playful colt who was rather proud of itself, head in the air.

This was not an image for sober people. Good thing no one could see this. Wait a sec... what about you people??? I mean, this is typical Alex, but I'm sure she'd be embarrassed. If you see her, make sure you don't tell her you saw her doing this. Good? Good.

It was a few seconds later that we encountered our first problem with Jules. She had made it to being under the active rooms. There was light, light that seemed to perfectly strike bits and pieces of circular metal that just happened to get swept down the vent.

Shiny coins.

At once, Jules forgot what she was doing, pouncing on the little pieces of shine, trilling and lifting them out of the dirt, holding a silver coin in her mouth and looking for somewhere to put it. Moments later, she was putting them into her blanket, picking up every bit of loose change she came across, making a huge fuss for nurses, janitorial staff, and various other people all over the building to hear and go "WTF????????" about.

Sadly, these people would never get an answer after reporting to animal control that some fuzzy quadruped probably found it's way into the ventilation system. Of course, they always have to come the next day, don't they? Yes, they do.

So, after collecting several dollars worth of change, jingling along the narrow shaft like Santa's sleigh with its jingle bells, she came to the first turn of her journey. She could either go left or go straight.

She stopped for a moment, and a loud noise rang out as the unit Loor gave her started vibrating against all of that change. The muse yelped, jumping and bonking her head on the metal above her, coming back down and burying the pain between her paws before turning slightly to look into her sack. After a few seconds, she remembered what the vibrating item was for, and nabbed it out with her teeth, figuring out how to answer the call. Loor could have done with giving her a few more directions.

_"Alex...? You hear me alright?" _Loor asked quietly. She was whispering. On the other hand, Jules had the muse hearing thing going on, so Loor was loud and clear.

Thus, the muse mewed in reply, picking up the square item in her teeth again and looking forward, ready to go.

_"Okay... you're gonna want to take a left..." _Loor said it as if she was reading a road map. Jules turned to the left and started trotting again, feeling rather proud and happy with herself.

So happy that she became her own flashlight.

Yep, Jules had started glowing red at the paws, shedding just enough light into the shaft to see, which made it all the better as Loor continued to direct her. Forward, right, forward, left. It was a zigzag pattern, probably because Loor knew she'd be noisy and thus it was the best idea to keep switching which room she was above or under.

It wasn't quite as covert as Loor had hoped... but Jules hadn't been busted yet.

* * *

Torn was the same place he had been the night before. He was hardly aware of his surroundings to be completely honest, and even less aware of himself. Anyone who looked at him though his recently replaced window would see Torn in a straight jacket, staring at a wall. The truth was he wasn't looking at the wall. He wasn't looking at anything. His detached mind couldn't feel anything, couldn't perceive anything unless it was moving. His memory didn't work, forgetting things as quickly as they were processed.

Despite being so detached, one could call him alert in other senses. His blank face and half open eyes didn't reflect on the fact that he could hear everything around him, though he couldn't understand anything anyone said. It was just noise... noise telling him where they were. These noises passed by his door, indistinct, not worth his effort.

Another thing most people didn't notice was that he was a ticking time bomb. Long enough in that plain little cell of a room... he would bust the door down for freedom, like he nearly had when he was first shoved into the room. He was aware of not wanting to be stuck here, and singled out emotions such as rage. Not so much now. His mind was as blank as his face, but if anything came into his range, his emotions would drive him.

His dark navy eyes shifted slightly as he heard some of that noise outside his door, snorting and looking back to his wall as it passed by.

One could feel sorry for Torn, really. Not for being stuck there, but for the fact that his conscious thought was still trying to reconnect. Still, there was something wrong. Like scar tissue, there was something there from a past event that he couldn't quite get a grasp on that wasn't letting him through. No, not scar tissue, a rip, a fresh cut. Something that was still bleeding.

This other mindset of his was hiding it. This killing side of him was protecting this cut, guarding it, and ignoring it all at once because it didn't understand the wound. It didn't know why it was there, and didn't make any attempt at healing it. It made no attempt at remembering the events of the night, no effort at reasoning, simply because that side of him didn't know how.

He growled lightly, one of the few physical signs of life he had given throughout the day, shaking his head as if there was something inside that itched. Or maybe it hurt, or burnt him. It was discomfort, nothing else. A nuisance.

Sound met his ears again, making his head twist quickly, looking about for the source. It was quiet, your average human would not have heard it, but he did. It was the padding of feet, the sound of something dragging, and then slight yelping and the much louder clattering of metal on metal.

_"Jules, what was that?"_

Torn didn't understand that sound, but whatever it was directed at dropped something else onto the metal, yowling while the dragging continued, then a loud thump as something tripped and fell. He had zeroed in on where the sound was strongest, coming out of the vent at the top of his room. He focused on it, waiting for something to come out, getting to his feet.

_"You weren't collecting loose change, were you?"_ More noise he didn't understand, the creature in the vent yowling some sort of protest. He watched as slight red light approached the vent...

And passed it.

He let a slight sigh loose, something close to disappointment, and sat down again, his gaze now trained on the vent. He was almost waiting for the red glow to come back. Not that he cared. It was pretty dark in his room, though they kept a dim light on. They? He didn't know. The things that were keeping him here.

He snorted, turning back to the wall he had been staring at before, but he now found that he needed to focus on and object, and ended up staring at the vent once more. Inside the strange bounds of the shirt he was wearing, his hands clawed into his ribs.

His mind focused upon something else. He wanted to get free. Not from this cell... from something else, but what? He didn't know. He wasn't aware of it.

* * *

Jules was growling, all of her sparkly light gone now, having to leave her change behind. She wanted those coins!! She was walking straight away from an opening she just passed, having to turn because the vent dead-ended.

_"Uh... Alex, you just passed it."_

The feline mewed, dropping the unit to glance back at the opening behind her. There was a slight light in there, and she hadn't bothered to look in. Mewing once more, she turned her head to grab the comm. again, and froze.

Two inches in front of her nose was a spider lowering from the ceiling to see who the hell was in its area. Jules turned and charged, head down, yowling, that yowl increasing in volume when she hit the grate that blocked the opening into the room they had been aiming for.

A second later, the cover gave, letting her fall on her back into the padded room.

Of course Jules could hear Loor freaking out in the vent, the voice on the unit echoing a little bit, but the muse's attention was focused on something else at the moment. More accurately, some_one._

Torn was there, sitting with his legs crossed, in a white straight jacket. She stared for a few moments, and he stared back. He made no effort to get up, but his gaze frightened her. It was utterly blank... almost dead. The whites of his eyes were slightly red, saying he hadn't slept since he had gone into this part of his mind.

She quickly got the blanket off from around her neck, keeping an eye on him as she pulled the knots loose with her teeth, and then went under the thing to change back. She knew he wouldn't remember, but she held her shame, wrapping up in the thing before getting up, seeing how this display had affected him.

His eyes had widened a little, and he had brought himself to his feet. She got up, the blanket wrapped around her like a towel. What could he do? Bite her? His hands were pinned.

He was growling at her, tracking her as she slowly backed away from the vent cover, waiting for her to display something of an intention.

She whimpered when she hit the corner, shaking. He scared her... just the look on his face... She yelped as he leapt forward, trying to jump out of the way, but not quick enough. She found herself pinned to that corner by his shoulder, him bent over, head to the side.

She almost screamed when he laid teeth into her shoulder. It hurt, and she could feel him breaking the skin. Still, she kept it down. It wouldn't take long for some camera or another to see what was going on, and she retaliated almost automatically.

She bit him back. She twisted her head slightly and grabbed his shoulder with her teeth. She couldn't bite as hard, couldn't get through the clothes, but she knew he felt it because he released her for a second before attaching again.

She started yanking her head to one side and the other, feeling blood trickle down her arm, lifting one foot to push off of the wall behind her. He couldn't catch himself, and had to let go again, falling back. Alex honestly didn't think she could throw him off, but didn't take time to analyze it, going over to him and putting her foot on his chest to hold him on his back. He didn't have his arms to push her off, and he didn't bother kicking.

She stared at him, his blank look, her blood smeared on the corners of his mouth. "...Torn? You... really don't remember, do you?"

He raised his upper lip in a snarl, showing off the blood on his teeth like a wolf would show off its sodden fangs.

She was almost crying, sniffing slightly. She could feel the pain from her arm, the ripped flesh. Still, there was another thing that had her almost in tears. "I... I made it worse, didn't I? Changing right in front of you... I probably pushed you further into it, didn't I?" She bent, on her knees, one knee holding him down still, the other on the floor, one hand, the one that had blood dripping off of it, daring to try and touch his face.

He turned and snapped at the fingers, and she glared at him, grabbing his nose and forcing his head upright. "Don't bite at me." She scolded, like she was talking to one of the dogs at home. She was used to the biters. He kept trying to snap, and she tweaked her grip on his nose before letting go. Then, again, she brought her hand down by the side of his face.

His head didn't turn. He just glared at her, growling in the back of his throat.

She smirked. He was just like a crabby wolf pup, like Odin on a bad day, one of her pets at home. He'd growl, but give a little punishment and he'd leave off.

His eyes widened a little when her hand traced his jaw line, to his neck. Alex wasn't quite sure what she was doing, but she was just doing what she felt was right. She knew his neck was ticklish, but he seemed to be relaxing as she was careful in tracing it with her fingertips, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Torn...?" She asked, embarrassed that a few tears had escaped her eyes, dripping off of her cheeks, landing on him.

His head moved to the side, his eyes closing slowly. She watched, brushing her fingers back up his neck, passing over his pulse, watching as the visible swell of a vein that had been going quickly slowed down. It slowed to a normal level, to a calm level.

His eyes opened again, the light in them once more.

He was confused at first, and she watched him run his tongue over his teeth, wondering why his mouth was full of blood, spitting some of the red substance onto the white floor. He didn't seem to notice the girl that was sitting on his chest, first trying to understand what was currently in his view point, a perfectly white room with padded walls.

He then let out a slight chuckle as her fingers were still lightly stroking his neck. The chuckle only lasted for a second as his head snapped up, looking at her with confusion. He didn't quite understand, and she let him up, pulling on the jacket so he could sit up. He was still looking about.

"They finally locked me up for good... huh?" He then looked at her again. "Wait a second... how did you get in here?? What are you wearing?"

Alex didn't answer him. She was full on crying now, but she wasn't so sad anymore. She threw herself at him in a full hug, forgetting about holding the blanket up. She knew he would have hugged back if he could, but it was obvious that he couldn't.

"...Alex?"

"You're okay!" She answered. "I...I was so scared... that you wouldn't go back to normal..."

She felt his chin hooking over her shoulder, the most he could do right now. "I don't even know what set me off..."

She pulled away, looking at him. "What...? Why not?"

"I don't remember..." He glanced around. "How long have I been here?"

"About a day." She answered. "Because you wouldn't come out of it. Listen, I can't be here long, and I need to tell you something."

"Yeah you do." He sighed. "Why did I snap in the first place. You were coming over..."

"I was over." She answered. "But listen, Torn, the reason you snapped... it was me. It was something I should have told you when we first started hanging out, but-"

"What?" He asked sharply. He was confused still, and now he looked apprehensive. "Were you seeing someone else?"

"No." She answered, though she wished it were that easy. "Listen Torn... Just listen, and try not to get angry. You have a pet muse, right? Jules...?"

"Yeah..." He was wondering where she was going with this.

She lowered her head. Last chance to chicken out.

"It was me the whole time."

She winced on the inside when he didn't say anything, quickly going to explain further. "It was an accident. On my way here, I was bring Loor's muse with me, and there was this thing with a small jolt of eco and... well, according to Vin, me and Loor's muse fused together, and you took me in before I found out that I could change back into a human form at will. When I did, I found Loor who introduced me to you..." She put her head down. "And things were going so well... I couldn't bring myself to say anything..."

He was still silent, staring at her for several moments.

"You should have told me..." He finally gave.

"I know!" She whimpered. "And then at your apartment... well, we uh..." She went bright red. "We kissed, and I didn't mean to, but I changed... and ran because I was scared..."

"I hurt you."

"No, not then. I ran too quickly."

"No, I'm talking about your arm right now."

She looked, somehow having forgotten about the two bites on her arm. "Oh, it's okay."

"No it isn't."

She gave him a look, then sighed. "Listen Torn, I'm really sorry about all of this, and you don't have to forgive me, but... I just felt like I had to do something because it was my fault."

He was about to say something, when there was a sound from the door. Both looked to see a security guy arguing with the door, and Alex wasted no time at all. "I'm sorry!" She said once more, changed, grabbed the blanket in her teeth, and dug her claws into the padding on the walls to get back into the vent.

Some part of her mind told her that she did the right thing. The other part of her mind told her that she should have kept her mouth shut.


	28. A Long Night

NEW CHAPTER!!! Whoo!! I have a new bitchy OC!

**No Ownage, 'cept for Ume, who's a bitch!**

OWTF!!

**Sammich  
****A Long Night**

Alex was a wreck.

She had grabbed the comm. in the teeth and ran back to Loor as fast as she was capable after getting out of Torn's room. Once she had escaped, she clung to Loor, not bothering to change back, not bothering to tell why she was bleeding, not bothering to tell her friend what happened at all. Loor was confused, and of course she tried to ask, but the feline only replied by mewing and clinging, her fur sticking up with the bottlebrush tail going on.

After a while, Loor got up and got away from that vent before someone went to check it out, wrapping Jules up with her blanket and taking the comm. to put it away. From there, they made the trip home a short one by way of Loor running there. Once back to Loor's place, Jules jumped down from her arms and limped a few paces away. After that short little distance, Loor bent and put her clothes near her, turning her back so she could change and get dressed.

She could hear Alex crying the second she changed back, but didn't turn around yet. She just waited for a few moments. After those few moments, she didn't have time to turn around because Alex hugged her from behind.

"Whoa, what the...? Yo, Alex, hello...?"

"...I told him..." The brown hair girl sniveled, not letting go, pushing her wet eyes against the back of Loor's shirt. "I told him... and I had to run... I said I was sorry..." She hiccupped. "...But he... he didn't forgive me..."

"Uh, Alex, if you had to run, it might be the case that he didn't have time to impart a little forgiveness."

"I could see it Loor!" Alex yanked on the raven-haired girl's shirt so she could yell into it. "He wasn't going to! He was... cold... he wasn't going to..."

Loor hefted a deep sigh, and managed to turn to her friend, goodness knowing how, and pull her up a little so the shorter girl could rest her head on Loor's shoulder while the other female in question hugged her in a motherly way. "Torn is a naturally cold person Alex... he's tough to read too. You should give this a few days. If he's back to normal, they won't be holding him much longer."

"Are you kidding?!" Alex yelped. "There... there was blood on the floor... the cameras probably saw me too... they know that he attacked me... they're not gonna let him go..." The brown haired female was huffing, her breath shivering as she kept up the attempts of talking and crying at the same time.

"He attacked you??" Loor glanced to where Jules had been bleeding in perspective to Alex and saw the bite marks. She moved to lift up the girls arm to get a closer look, but Alex wouldn't let her, yanking back. Loor lowered her head in thought, sighing again and sitting down on the stairs going up. "Well... it's not that big of a problem."

"What do you mean?" Alex was wiping her eyes with her forearms. "They're gonna lock him up for good and it's my fault!"

"Calm down, there are a few bits and pieces that you don't know about that hospital." Loor gave a grin. "First off, there are exactly two men per block of the hospital at this time of night. Of course, one would be monitoring the cameras while the other did rounds, yes? That is, unless a previous disturbance had brought them both away from the camera board. I'm pretty sure you were being kinda loud in those vents, which means no one was watching the cameras, so no one but Torn saw you change."

"...But-"

"Wait till I'm done now, would you? Secondly, I know the system in that building. Nothing goes to a permanent memory bank. The cameras erase their own memory every five minuets unless something was deemed of notice, from which the segment of film goes to a database. Now, what we have to hope for is that your boyfriend made a big enough fuss that it took longer than five minuets and the cameras cleared themselves of you turning back and running. Hopefully Torn was smart and lied, saying that he bit his own lip or something, and that's that."

"And if that isn't the case...?" Alex asked, sitting by her friend now. She was feeling marginally better.

"Then buddy boy will go back into therapy and you'll be brought into an inquiry and possibly a full med check for suspicion of being an attacking force."

"Huh?"

"The only creatures in or around this town capable of changing their shape, other than me and Jakkie boy, are metal heads."

"Why do you sound so calm???" Alex was horrified of that possibility, clutching her own knees.

"Because I already turned in your ID papers. Sure, they can poke and prod, but they won't find much, and I can prove that you're a Haven citizen."

"So... I have a safety net..." Alex lowered her head, clearing her damp face. "Alright... so... what do we do now?"

"Wait. I'll visit Vin tomorrow morning and get the info on Torn, and then we'll figure our next move."

Alex nodded slowly, getting up. She felt lightheaded, but forced herself to her feet anyway. "I'm gonna... go home now..." She muttered, heading for the door.

"Take Ryan with you."

Alex turned to see Loor holding the purple fuzzy blanket out. She stared for a few moments, questioning her friend with her eyes.

"It's just so... you have someone to talk to if you need it in the middle of the night."

Ah, this was Loor's safety net. The mother out of the two was worried that Alex was gonna go home and cut herself. Letting out a small smile, Alex took the thing, feeling warmth on it. It was one of the best things that Loor could have done for her. She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and nodded, putting a hand where she had been bitten. The blood had stopped by now, which was also good.

Finally, Alex turned and left, happy to get outside, keeping the tender skin on her arm covered with one hand. The air of the night cleared her head slightly as she went on her way towards her own apartment. It would be a lonely walk...

**_"Mon Cheri!" _**

The words were almost sung out, making Alex look up. She saw him, the yellow and blue muse racing in her general direction, darting between the few people that were on the street at this time and getting up to her shoulder upon getting close enough to jump onto her. "Corky." She greeted, smiling a bit more now, scratching him between the ears.

_"Tell me what happened!" _He gave, rubbing into her neck affectionately. _"I don't even know where you went!" _

"It's a long story." Alex snickered, moving quickly.

_"Well, I assume I'm going home with you, so we have all night for you to divulge." _

She nodded slightly, and gave a little sigh. "Well... just let me tell you this; we didn't get an ending tonight. There's still more."

_"There's always more... that's life." _

* * *

Torn didn't know where they were taking him.

Alex had left just in time, the door being opened a second later for two medics to get their way in and restrain him, even though he wasn't struggling. One was checking out the room, mainly the blood on the floor, while the other forced Torn back to a wall and started doing a quick check of him. It was several seconds later that both of the medics where shocked.

"Calm down." Torn commanded, glaring at both of them. The two doctors had been under the assumption that they were dealing with a vegetative person. Dangerous, but vegetative. That meant no talking.

His speech was the only hint they had to him waking up from his berserk state.

Of course, there was still blood on the floor, so calming down wasn't gonna happen. Before he knew it, Torn had been dragged out of his room into a holding room somewhere else, and five seconds after that he was getting shoved around again, and soon enough there were a few beefy guys dragging him to an empty room on the first floor that had been quickly prepared for containment.

About an hour later, it was also for questioning.

It was a normal hospital room, not a loony room, so after the guard like doctors had let him go Torn went to one of the two clean beds in the room and laid back. He hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours, but it seemed the second after he had closed his eyes that someone was jabbing him awake.

The person wasn't what you call tall, but not short. Female, she had a tired look in her eye. Obviously, someone had woken her up for this, and she wasn't happy about it. Dressed in a professional business type outfit, she glared with sharp green eyes till Torn made a direct sign of being awake. That sign was growling at her as she stood up, walking over to the other bed in the room, yanking an end table away from the wall and placing a file down on it.

"Good evening." She greeted, though her voice was rather cold.

Torn was still getting back into it, lifting his head from the flat pillow and sighing, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and looking at the woman again. It didn't take him long to place who she was. She had a very distinct look. She had dark skin, but bright eyes, black hair held back in a high pony, a thick shade of red on her lips that matched the suit she wore, and a devious look on her face. "I would think it's morning by now, Ume."

Torn knew this woman for one reason, she was head of the HCPD, the slowly growing Haven City Police Department. She had a strong voice that was a lot like Ashelin's, but while Ashelin's voice was rather blunt, Ume's was sly. "Cut the small talk Torn." She snapped at him.

"I would think this would be a small job, handed by someone a bit lower on the ladder." Torn gave her a look. "Or, preferably, someone from the FL, seeing as I'm FL business."

Ume smirked. "True, you should be out of my range, Torn." She snickered. "On the other hand, the second we discovered blood down there, it became my department's problem."

"It's mine." Torn automatically lied.

"No it isn't." She batted back. "A DNA sample already told us different. In a few hours, I should know who it belongs to, and we'll see if they want to press any charges." She seemed rather smug at this. "So, who was it?"

"I don't know. I don't remember."

"A likely story. The ventilation shaft in your room had been opened from the inside. Have you anything to that?"

"No." He was glaring at her. "I have no idea."

She seemed to notice him struggling slightly with the fact that he was _still_ in a straight jacket. "Comfy?"

"Like a two star hotel with a rat infestation."

"We might take that thing off of you if you'd give us some straight answers."

"This is about as straight as it gets, Ume: I don't fucking know."

"There were earlier reports of noise in the shafts, and following the trail of reports, we found that someone had ripped apart an air handler base on the outside of the building, a hole just big enough for a child under five, or a small animal. Any guesses on that one, Torn?" Ume was quick to switch subjects. She was trying to confuse him.

"No, I don't." He gave back. He was used to this game. "How do you even know the blood in the cell is human?"

"We don't. Do you?"

"Maybe you'd know if your camera system wasn't so shoddy."

"The cameras and their system were FL approved and installed. If you have a gripe with them, take it up with your own boss."

"I don't. I could care less about the blood on the floor. I'm just saying you'd have your answers if you didn't erase film every five minuets like local schools."

"It's still all over your teeth too." She commented, like jabbing out a weapon, tapping her neatly manicured nails on the folder she had dropped on the end table that was between them. "The blood. That's an assault to an attempted homicide."

"What do you care? I wasn't mentally stable at the time, which means I cannot be held accountable."

"The FL can't protect you on this one." She snapped. "We have no idea how long you've been stable, so you could be lying. For all we know, you've been stable since the last living set of eyes saw you. Cameras tend to loose a lot of things, including incriminating data."

"Why are you so set on me being behind bars, Ume?" Torn snarled these words, loosing what little temper he had at the moment. "You've had something shoved up your ass for about a year, like you've taken Veger's place!"

"You are a loaded weapon!" She seethed back. "And yet they let out roam around on what they call a short leash. The only way it could be any looser is if they took the collar off, and every time you've messed up, they back you up, say you can't be held accountable. You have eight homicide charges on your record," She flipped the file open. Torn didn't look at it. He already knew its contents. They were pictures of victims. His. "More than twenty charges of attempted homicide, and more than fifty of assault."

"You're just pissed off because the FL makes you guys look redundant and retarded. You guys run around on your zoomers like you're all high and mighty, when our tattooed boys are still patrolling the city, and we catch every big offense while you guys are busting people on fish smuggling."

"You know half of those big cases are luck."

"You know that the FL makes you look bad."

"You're a dangerous criminal, a monster."

"And you're just a bitch looking for a raise by trying to make the FL look bad."

"And you're still loyal to the KG."

Torn growled, pulling against his jacket again and standing up. He knew he could do damage to her without being able to hold her down, but she followed his challenge by pushing the table out of the way and getting to her feet, glaring.

Finally, Torn growled a reply. "The Baron is burning in hell, and I'm glad he's gone."

"Oh, so you can take free shots at his daughter, who will protect you on every little whim?"

"I don't need her protection."

"Oh, you just take it as a gift then, with extra after hours rewards?"

"Ume!"

Both Torn and Ume glanced to the doorway, where a very tired-looking Ashelin stood. At once, Ume stood at attention, and obeyed when Ashelin motioned her to leave the room. Entering, three FL guards were left to stand at the door with Ume's police thugs, and Ashelin went to Torn to undo his jacket.

He was glad to be rid of the thing, stretching once his arms were free. "Thanks..."

"Don't worry Torn, we have this all taken care of." Ashelin smiled slightly, sitting down on the bed that Ume had been on a few seconds before. "You should be out of here by sun-up."

"Nice to know." He muttered, sitting back down.

"You sure know how to cause a commotion." Ashelin kept her smile, looking at him. "Thank goodness you didn't kill anyone this time."

"Yeah, what was the body count last time? Three?"

"With fifteen mortally wounded." Ashelin wasn't smiling now, cold as she pulled the end table back, looking through the file. Torn didn't need to see the pictures. He knew them. "They've built up quite a strong case against you, but the FL can protect you. You have nothing to worry about, maybe a hearing you have to dress up for, nothing more."

"There was blood in the room, Ashelin. What are you going to do if they bring that up?"

"You were still out of it."

"Ume thinks I'm lying and that I knew what I was doing and who I was doing it to."

"Ume thinks she can get a fat paycheck out of this... still, they're doing an extensive DNA test. After a while, that blood is going to link to someone in the city. When it does, they have a witness... I'm sure it's someone we can shut up."

"How?"

"We have our ways. Anyway, an adult wouldn't have fit through that hole. It would have had to be a stray animal, from which you get a short offense and an overnight stay behind bars. No big deal."

Torn sighed, rubbing one arm, picking up his legs and sitting Indian style. "So... do they have any idea what got in?"

"No, they don't. It's not like we have a trained croco-dog to crawl through that shaft with a camera." She looked up at him. "Torn... please, tell me, do you know?"

Torn stared at her for a few moments, then back at the door. He could almost sense Ume on the other side of the wall, listening intently, probably with a wire. A few seconds more, and he looked back at Ashelin, right in the eyes.

"No. No I don't."


	29. Goodbye

I didn't die!!!! I'm so sorry it took so long, but the first version of this chapter was… well, a dud. After that I had writers block (I get depressed when my editor tells me something is bad) and then my sixteenth birthday got the drop on me. (It was the 28th.) Oh well, I'm finally back, so alls well that ends well, right? I hope so…

Oh yeah, if any of you are Naruto fans, go check into the new fic I put up via my profile. Yeah, it's SI like everything else I write, and it uses characters we all know if you've read this series. It's called **Markings,** and though the first chapter is a little gruesome, it's gonna be a good story.

**I don't own it!!! (If I did, this chapter would have been on a deadline.)**

OWTF!!!

**Sammich  
****Goodbye**

Torn spent the night in a hospital bed after Ashelin left. They couldn't offer him anything else, and regardless to anything that was going to happen around him, he wanted to sleep. He could hardly think in his current condition, having been awake for the past thirty hours.

Heh, talking about sleep was one thing. Actually doing it was another thing. It seemed the second he put his head onto the pillow, his mind snapped into overdrive of what he was going to do when he got out, if he got out. He couldn't go back to his apartment just yet... maybe he'd hide out at Ryan's place. No, he wouldn't be able to deal with the blond boy at the moment. Maybe Loor's place...? It was the most secure...

_What about Alex?_

He winced as his mind had to go and remind him what was going on. Alex was Jules. It surprised him, that fact finally being put to light, but he was already overloaded with emotion at the time, it had been hard to focus on it. Now... he wasn't so sure how much he could believe. Sure, he'd seen a lot, maybe more than any person should ever see, but to watch your girlfriend turn into your pet right in front of you, this ex. KG captain could almost say it was scary.

Still, it was the truth. There was no changing what he had seen in that little padded cell. He shifted slightly where he lay, annoyed with the flat pillow and the strange smell of the place. He didn't like to sit still when his mind was like this, but he was pretty sure that there was someone at his door to prevent him from leaving his room and going for a walk. He may have had issues thinking and holding still at the same time, but it was something that had to be done.

Shifting, he lay flat, looking at the ceiling in the dark room, and took a few steps back to when his memory had blacked out. She had been asking about his problem... his snapping, how it happened, why it happened... He closed his eyes, trying to make that void of his memories yield something beside a headache. He had started to explain... about the first time he had killed one of his comrades...

_You don't want to hurt the ones you love._

What she had said went through his mind quickly, and he winced. Too true... he didn't, and he had gotten so close to hurting her. He was pretty sure he knew how Jak and Loor felt, with their alter egos, how it could be just about anything to release the other side, even a willing opening, and when you wake up, you could be killing your best friend. Before, this snapping problem hadn't been so real to him. He knew what everyone told him, but all the people he hurt or killed... he didn't know them. He didn't see them. He never spoke to them; ever. Then, there was Alex, who had been so close to the fire she almost got burned, but didn't. On one half, he felt sick at what he had almost done, and on the other half, royally relived that she was okay.

He pushed at the fragmented memory, the cut up conversation, missing words and actions like an old and beat up movie reel. He had no real idea what went on after that, but still tried to see it, no matter how much it made his head hurt.

His eyes snapped open as the ending came back, gasping lightly.

That kiss...

So they had gone that far. It would have been a perfect moment if Alex hadn't been overwhelmed by her own emotions, changing without meaning to. On the other hand, she would have had to tell him sooner or later. He preferred sooner, even if it had caused what happened to happen.

Now it still left the question... whom was he going to stay with when he left the hospital? The usual choices went through his head, but he shook them all off, getting off of the bed he was on, walking over to the door, and opening it. As expected, there were three beefy guys that he could probably take down with his bare hands. Two FL guards, tattoos and all, and one HCPD grunt, armed with tranquilizer. At once, he put his hands up slowly, looking at the three of them. The FL guards knew him, and lowered their gazes, intimidated, leaving him to glare at the PD kid, who looked like he only recently learned how to hold that gun.

"I just want to make a call to a friend of mine." He said slowly, keeping his gaze even, watching as the kid's gun hand, which was on the tranq. gun already, starting to shake. "I don't have my comm., can I borrow yours?"

The kid stared for several seconds, backing up a half step. "I-i-it's four in the mornin'! Who would ya call at this hour?"

"A good friend." Torn gave back, and then slowly held one hand out, glancing at the other two. "I just need to borrow one and make a simple call."

"Put your hand back up!" The kid gave an adolescent squeak, pulling the gun out of its holster. Torn watched as he looked ready to use it, but smirked, as the kid didn't even take the safety off.

One of the FL boys rolled his eyes, reaching into a pocket and pressing a war-model into Torn's hand. "Make it quick, or Maxwell is going to have a heart attack."

"Oh shut up!" The kid shouted, putting his gun away, glaring at the guy who called him Maxwell. "That's Officer Maxwell to you!"

"I can't believe they put someone out here for their first day..." The other FL guy chuckled. "Can't even handle a containment job..."

"It's not my first day and you guys both know it!" Maxwell seemed at the end of his rope, glancing between the two laughing FL guards as Torn started to back out of the argument. "I've been on for a few months now, and I'm good, that's why I'm here, it's just that I've heard all the stories about that _freak!_"

Torn had been shutting the door, sinking into his room, but stopped when he heard that word. He froze, hearing all three guys outside the room gasping, and opened the door again to find Maxwell whimpering, holding the gun again, and backing up into the other side of the hall. He gave an icy stare to Maxwell, and let himself out of the room, approaching the trembling man.

One would half expect the two FL guards to pull out popcorn and enjoy the show.

"Maxwell, was it?" Torn asked, his tone low. "Tell me, if you've heard all the stories, why are you going out of your way to piss me off?"

Maxwell started to shrink, trying to press himself into the wall, pointing the gun at Torn. "S-s-stay b-back! I'll shoot!"

"Should I be intimidated by that fact? Ume puts a six-month-old rookie to guard me, who probably got all the top spots by bookwork and hiding behind that gun. If she's trying to disgust me, she's doing a pretty good job." Torn was still on the approach, a light smirk playing on his face.

"This is your last warning!" Maxwell squealed, his voice going falsetto.

"Last warning before what?" Torn was mere inches from the kid now, and leaned down to pick him up by the front of his shirt alone, one-handed. He didn't care that Maxwell had stuffed the point of the gun into his stomach. "You try to shoot me with a gun on safe mode?"

Maxwell stared for several more seconds before his eyes rolled into the back of his head, fainting.

Torn walked back toward his room after dropping the kid, smiling at the two FL guys, who were clapping. He sighed slightly, stopping by them.

"...I needed that."

Both of the guys laughed, patting him on the back, and Torn got back to his room, shutting the door. He glanced at the comm. he had borrowed, having forgotten about it for a moment. Still, he went to go sit on his bed, quickly punching in a number he had memorized like all the other numbers on his comm., though he had never dialed it before.

He sent the call, waiting several seconds, and sighing as an automated voice informed him that the number he dialed was out of service or off. Of course, she had it with her during that particular memory. He probably destroyed it when she ran...

"Alex..." He muttered, hanging his head.

He had no way of contacting her... and he wasn't going to bother anyone else at this time, so he got up and went back to the guard he had borrowed it from, handing it back after having a quick laugh; the other guy was currently gone, giving Maxwell a swirly in the men's room down the hall.

Before Torn sunk back into his room, the FL kid stopped him. "Sir..." He gave slowly, seeing as Torn was higher ranking, even if he was a 'prisoner' at the moment. "May I speak plainly?"

Torn gave the kid a look, raising an eyebrow. Even inside a building, the kid was in full armor, including the helmet, so the guard could be anyone. A newbie, or someone who had been in since the days of the KG. Either way, Torn didn't know who he was, and why he was asking this question. "Kid, I'm in no place to be taking or giving out orders. Do what you want."

The 'kid' gave a slight laugh, pushing a release to take the lower jaw of his helmet off and lifting the rest off with ease, letting a blond ponytail tumble down and showing off the guy's dazzling smile.

Yep, under this big outfit was Ryan.

"Ashelin called me in, saying that it was better to have someone you knew watching you." The blond told his superior with a smirk, but the smile quickly dropped. "Why did you do that to Maxwell? You usually don't do stuff like that."

"That kid needed to be taken down a few pegs." Torn quickly answered, growling.

"Yeah, right." Ryan gave him a look. "Something is botherin' you, and I know it. I know better than to think you just let the rivalry between the FL and the HCPD get into your head, and Ume couldn't have worked you over _that_ much."

"Ryan, they got a good case this time." Torn gave back quickly. "I could go away for a long time if they land this, and this is the worst time for me to be going anywhere." His tone was intense, and he had gotten right up into Ryan's face. "You have no grasp of how important it is that they don't figure out who that blood belongs to."

Ryan stared for a few moments, and smirked. "Yeah, I do know, and I also know who it belongs to. Loor filled me in, and don't worry... Ashelin doesn't have much of a clue what she let me do by ordering me here."

Torn stared for a few moments. "What did you do?"

Ryan gave a slight grin, pulling open a pouch on his hip and producing a tightly sealed vial. "The spirit of Slink lives on."

Slink was a guard member, friend of Torn's and Ryan, who died. The kid was known for his innate ability to steal anything.

The vial had a sample of what looked like fabric and cotton that was saturated with blood.

"Is that...?" Torn asked, looking slight aghast.

Ryan put a finger to his lips, jerking his head to a camera that wasn't far from them, holding the vial in a position that it would not be seen. When he spoke, it was a mere whisper. "Yep, the original sample they took."

Torn spoke just as quietly. "That doesn't matter, Ryan. There's more down there, they just have to cut another section of the floor away."

If possible, Ryan's grin grew. "Yeah, if they knew that it was gone."

"I don't follow."

"I replaced it with a nice little look-alike..." Ryan gave a wink. "And to put the icing on the cake, the blood on it belongs to a stray muse that happens to spend a lot of time around Alex's place."

Torn stared for several seconds, and then smirked. "I think you outdid yourself."

"Blame Slink, I think he possessed me."

Torn snickered, turning to go back to his room. "I would not be surprised."

Ryan shut the door for him, and Torn returned to his bed, laying on his back, with one less worry on his skull, which was a good thing. Not that he could sleep just yet, but it cleared the way for other shit.

It was no sooner that he was about to start thinking again, someone came into his room. He glanced over, and sighed, sitting up.

Ashelin had so graciously let herself in. She was tired, but stood tall anyway, sitting on the bed opposing him again, like she had before.

Torn gave her a tired look.

"You can leave." She told him, a small smile taking place.

"Just like that, huh? They're letting me go?"

"Turns out that the blood belonged to a feline life form." Ashelin answered. "You can imagine that Ume nearly busted someone's head over it."

"She wanted that case pretty bad." Torn said, no emotion to his words. He was beyond that now, far too tired.

Ashelin watched him for a few moments, and then offered him a hand. "Listen, I know you're tired, and I don't trust myself driving. There's a hotel not far from here."

Torn's eyes flashed, looking at that hand, brow furrowing. "Do you have any shame?"

She stared at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't." He snorted, getting up quickly, turning for the door. He felt her grab him, and took a deep breath to make sure he wouldn't lose it.

"Torn, I don't know why you're getting so angry." Ashelin got up from her spot, to stand behind him. "We've slept in the same room before. I'm just thinking about being safe."

He felt his jaw clenching, resisting the urge to turn around and punch that pretty little face of hers. "If you want to be safe, you'll take about five steps back..." he turned his head. "And jump out the window."

He watched her jaw come open to argue, but he didn't let her, turning quickly. "No, Ashelin, you don't get it!" He snapped, turning and whacking her hand off of his shoulder. "You're not the only woman in my life, and I found someone a whole hell of a lot better! So back the fuck off!"

Ashelin stared for several seconds, her mouth half open, but he wasn't done yet.

"She's everything you never were for me, by the way. Sure, it was nice for the first week, wasn't it, Ashelin? And then all we did was meet up and sleep with each other, and when I said no, you forced yourself on me! We hardly spoke to each other back then, and we hardly do now. What makes you think that we're such good friends? You act like I'm your property!"

She opened her mouth to deny it, but had no time.

"No, fuck your apologies, your excuses, and everything else you hand me when we get into crunch time on all of those adventures. Actually, fuck you all together. I quit being a pen pusher at the FL; refuse my post as commander, and anything else that put me in your life. I have someone else who actually cares; her name is Alex, and you'll never be better than her."

Ashelin's eyes were wide open in shock, and she took a step back to sit back down, her mouth still slightly open, dumbfounded, unable to say anything.

Torn wouldn't have cared either way, turning and leaving.

She had never been rejected before.

He had never rejected her before.

It was certainly a new feeling, walking through that hall, past several people, through many halls, down a couple sets of stairs, and then out the door. He felt like he had just won a victory after losing men for several days, beaten a challenge after getting his ass kicked countless times.

He felt good.

Early morning air washed through his senses when he got outside, and he moved quickly towards Old Haven. It was a long walk, and the sun had started to rise by the time he had gotten there, but he honestly didn't care. He went to his target, a shabby apartment building, let himself in, and started up the stairs to the second floor, finding her apartment number.

Number two-zero-six. He stared at the door as if it would eat him if he so much as tapped it with a fingernail.

He felt a little scared. What would she do? Would it be open arms, or would she slam the door in his face? Was she scared, or worried?

He flattened his palm on the door, as if that would tell him something. He couldn't think of what to do...

He stiffened as he heard movement inside, staring for a few seconds, and then quickly moving to the side, and down the hall.

Seconds later, the door opened, and Alex's head peaked out, her eyes wide, yawning, looking both ways down the hall but seeing no one... strange, Corky had been sure that he heard someone outside her door, but there wasn't anyone.

Around the corner, Torn was pressed to the wall, heart thudding in his chest.

This was a lot harder than he thought.


	30. Heroic Corky

Yay! New chapter! Yay! Cute romance before everything goes to shi--- I mean hi…. XDD

**No Ownage.**

And no, it's not the last chapter…. –grins-

OWTF!!!

**Sammich  
****Heroic Corky**

Corky yawned slightly, stretching in the patch of light that came into Alex's bedroom, sunning himself. It had to be almost noon now, and he had been drifting in and out of napping. Alex had been sleeping ever since the disturbance earlier that morning, though she seemed a little troubled by it. It made him regret informing her that someone was at the door.

Still, he had been right by the door. He knew _who_ was there. It had been Torn, but the boy ran. Why? Who knew? Maybe he had decided to play ding-dong-ditch, though that seemed rather out of character for the tattooed wonder. Now, in all honesty, the male muse didn't care. He had a nice person to cuddle up to, a perfect spot of sunshine to stretch out in...

Suddenly, that spot of sunshine wasn't there anymore. Opening his yellow eyes, Corky cocked his head to the side to see that Alex had yanked the blinds down and blocking out whatever was left with curtains. He watched as she huffed, dropping back into bed and staring at the ceiling.

**_"Mon Cheri?"_** Corky questioned, getting up, crawling onto her stomach and sitting down. _"Something wrong?" _

"What do you think, Corky?" She sighed, glaring at the ceiling.

_"I think you're sick. Love sick." _

"That what you think?" She sighed. "You're probably right... I can't even face him now... Not with what happened."

_"Baby, you did the right thing."_ Corky went to nuzzle her under the neck. _"Besides, what makes you think he'll be angry?"_

"I don't know... because everything bad that's happened in his recent week of life has been my fault."

_"And everything good." _Corky batted back, his tail bouncing back and forth. _"I think he wants to see you."_

"Yeah, and what if... what if he doesn't? What if he's super mad?" Alex sighed, grabbing a pillow and stuffing it over her head. "There's no safe way to find out..."

_"Of course there is."_ Corky seemed to snicker. _"I could go and find out."_

Alex shook her head. "You've done enough, Corky, donating blood to keep him out of jail..."

_"It was the least I could do, but I'm willing to do this as a favor to a friend." _Corky got up, going to her side and grabbing the pillow in his teeth, trying to tug it off of her face.

She growled at him, taking the pillow with her as she rolled over, pushing her head under it and the other one on the bed. "Don't."

Corky growled slightly. _"Fine, fine. If you must be difficult, then be difficult. I'm not going to let you sit here and waste away because, deep down, you want to see him." _He turned on the bed, jumping down to the floor and going over to the window, nosing the bottom of the blinds out of the way and worming his way onto the sill, the window being open for him. **_"Avior_**_ baby." _

He knew that Alex had muttered some obscenity in his general direction, but didn't listen. No, he took his French accented ass and started climbing down the fire escape, doing it quickly and quietly.

He had a mission now, and he would not fail.

The first part of that mission was getting to ground level without killing himself, but that was easy, nimbly getting to the streets of Old Haven and then trotting to the front of the building, sniffing around the door. The smell he was looking for stuck out because it was fairly recent, and there was one path of it going in, and another path of it going out. He followed the out path, slinking around the streets as to avoid too many people seeing him. At noon, there was a fair amount of foot traffic, and one in every two hundred people was a person with a net, looking for strays.

Corky didn't feel like meeting that person today.

He wasn't surprised when the trail he was following didn't lead him to New Haven, but to a place not too far off in the slums. Dodging feet and homeless people, he felt more comfortable in this section, and bolted the last few feet of his journey to the front door of a person's house... even if it didn't look like a front door. Hell, it didn't even look like a door at all.

He sat outside a stone wall with the underground's old symbol on it. He sat there for a few moments, and then glanced about. He had never attempted opening a door like this before, but it couldn't be that tough. He went up onto his hinds, his front paws inspecting the wall-like structure, looking for a button or something, stretching his slinky body and then trying to dig his claws in, though that obviously didn't work with stone.

His next step was to start mewing pitifully, hoping the people inside would hear him. As a stray, this noise was well practiced for the nights when garbage cans were just not on his to-do list. Usually, your average housewife would come out long enough to hand him some table scraps and send him on his merry way. If he got lucky, a little kid would give him something fresh, preferably raw.

He sat there for a while, making that noise. After a few more moments, the door opened, and he saw the raven-haired woman of the house looking down at him with a strange expression. Still, she recognized him. "Oh, look..." She giggled. "The blood donor... did you want something, Corky?"

Alex had introduced him. He mewed, getting up and going past her, lifting his nose and then turning to the lower level of the place, glancing about the room at the various bunk beds, and spotting what little of Torn's figure that he could see in the upper bunk, on the left, furthest from the door. Loor stood at the top of the stairs as Corky crawled up the ladder best a muse could, walking on top of the military man, who slept on his back in the perfect prone position.

Corky stood on the man's chest, looking down for a few seconds before planting his paws...

And sticking all four sets of claws in.

Torn woke with a snarl, batting the animal away, who had already jumped to the other set of bunks, mewing to get the tattooed wonder's attention.

Loor couldn't help but laugh as Torn followed this muse out the door, sitting on the stairs so she wouldn't get punched.

* * *

Alex lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling again. She was purely alone now, even her muse left her!

She felt angry, somewhere, deep in her chest. Maybe hurt... like she was bleeding on the inside, but she wasn't, and it was still killing her all the same. It wracked her body whenever she tried to move from her bed, or even thought about getting properly dressed in anything other than the lacy red bra she had recently bought for herself and her black night pants. She just lay there, wanting to cry, but being unable.

Was this what rejection felt like?

But he didn't reject her... she had to run.

But... that look on his face...

She rolled over, closing her eyes, pushing under her pillow again to hide. She had to wonder what he was doing now...

_Probably having lunch with Ashelin._

She found herself agreeing with the spiteful thought, and it made her clutch at her blankets, forcing two tears out, being choked by the ball that had formed in her throat. What the hell caused that annoying thing when you were crying anyway?

She was just pondering this, when she heard a loud and clear knock on her door. She froze, and then sat up slightly, turning her head in the general direction of the door and yelling. "Go away!"

"I can't!"

She froze at the voice shouting back. Was that really...?

She quickly got up, slipping on a black and white striped shirt and drying her face on the way, quickly jumping up to check the peep hole (She was too vertically challenged to see it without hopping), and then unlocking the door to open it.

Torn stood on the other side, looking like he had just rolled out of bed. At his feet, looking all sorts of smug, was Corky. She glanced between the muse and the man, and glomped the man.

It felt so good when he caught that flying hug and returned it, squeezing her lightly. It was like in that one squeeze, he had just squished all the worries and dark clouds out of her mind, like squishing the water out of a sponge.

Then, she felt one of his arms lift off of her middle, the other arm still holding her up. She was wondering what he was doing at first, but melted when she felt his nails dig into her scalp. Anyone there could swear to her purring in his grasp, nuzzling him, toes curling.

There were perks to being part muse.

_"My work is done here." _Corky gave, snickering, slinking past the couple and into the apartment to go find a different spot of sun to relax in.

After a while, Torn put her back down. He gave a genuine smile. "Sorry."

"About what...?" She asked, getting her head back after the 'purr' session.

"Five in the morning... I chickened out."

She stared for a few moments. "Oh, you were the person at the door?? You ran?"

He nodded slightly. "And then that muse dragged me back... is he your other boyfriend or something?"

Alex rolled her eyes at him. "It wouldn't work. I like being a human too much. By the way, his name is Corky, and you currently owe him your freedom."

_"Yeah, and you'd think he'd show some gratitude, but NOO, can't be nice to the muse, have to curse at it the whole way up here. Seriously, **Mon Cheri, **I can't work like this." _

Alex giggled, and Torn gave her a funny look. "What did he say?"

"He said you could afford to be a little nicer. Are you going to come in, or am I going to close the door in your face?" She snickered as Torn walked in, closing the door behind him. "So... other than Corky dragging you down... did you want to talk about something?"

"Sorta..." He sighed. "I just turned my own life upside down."

She gave him a look, and then took his hand, leading him to what was pretty much her living room. It had a couch and a coffee table, which was all she really needed. She quickly flopped down, putting her feet up on said coffee table. "Wha'd ya do?"

"You remember that job I have that I loathe?" He asked, sitting next to her. He didn't relax though. He as leaned forward, elbows on his knees, slouched. "I quit... violently."

"Oh... that's good, isn't it?"

"Good and bad... as of today, I'm a civilian. It means I don't have to deal with Ashelin anymore... but they won't back me up next time... you should have heard me, telling her exactly what I thought of her..."

Alex was a little shocked. Torn seemed rather proud of telling Ashelin off. "Wha'd you say?"

"Don't remember all of it." He shrugged. "Something about telling her to jump out of a window, and then for her to fuck off."

"Oh." Alex gave, but in the back of her mind she was doing the victory dance. "So... uh..." She wanted to ask a question, but didn't know how to put it without being awkward. Did he still want to be with a muse-girl, or did he just want to be friends? She couldn't think of a way to say it without either sounding desperate or sounding like she didn't want to be in the relationship anymore.

"What?" He asked, looking at her. She could see it in his eyes, clearly, that he was open to anything. Any question she wanted to ask, she could just ask it.

"Are we still together?" She gave quickly, like blurting it out, and quickly turning away, blushing. She couldn't help it.

She felt his hand on hers, trying to get her to look over, but she was afraid to look. What would be on his face? Shock? Did he think her an idiot for having to ask?

She felt his other hand on the bottom of her chin, turning her to him. She stared, a slight smile on his face.

"Why do you think I said no to Ashelin?"

A second later, she had been brought forward a few inches by that hand on the bottom of her chin, and his lips had met hers. She could feel her heart suddenly pounding against her ribcage as his hand flowed up from her chin to holding one side of her face, breaking very slightly, only to come back, slightly open, nudging, asking permission that he quickly got.

She was scared to melt at first, scared that she'd change again, on accident, but she didn't feel it. She wondered, had the muse side pushed out on it's own so she could stop lying to him? Had it been something that wasn't of her own will?

She stopped thinking about it. The kiss was too damn good for her to be distracted.

_"Bravo, **Mon Cheri, **but I'd suggest you move to your bedroom." _

Both Alex and Torn pulled away to glare at the male muse, who was sitting on the coffee table, his tail slowly bobbing back and forth, that smug look on his face again.

"What did he say?" Torn asked with the 'Do I even want to know?' tone.

"He told us to get a room." Alex replied, suddenly wanting to strangle the male muse in the room.

Torn snickered, shaking his head no. "It's a bit early for that."

Alex felt herself going red again. "So... uh..."

"What?" He asked, again.

"What now?" She asked right back.

He smirked, gathering her up in his own arms, leaning back on the couch, and getting comfortable. "Now? I'm going back to sleep."

She didn't mind it. In fact, he made a very good pillow, and a great teddy bear, at the same time. At the moment, it felt like a perfect happy ending. He told the old girl it was over, and they made up.

But that's not the end of the story. This wasn't an ending. She nuzzled into his chest as she could hear his heart rate drop slightly, a smooth pattern that told her he was asleep. This was more of a middle-ish beginning. Ashelin wasn't dead, and ex. girlfriends had a thing for being spiteful.

Alex had to keep reminding herself that she wasn't dreaming though. This place was very real... and she wasn't going back. Ever. Thinking about that made her strangely calm. This wasn't a vacation where she'd fall in love and then never see the boy again, spending the rest of her life nursing a broken heart. This was her home. Loor had bagged her a job, and she would rule over her own life for the first time... ever.

Scary.

It got a little less scary when she started listening to his heartbeat again. She didn't care if Ashelin tried to break them up, or whatever the bitch would try to do... she wasn't going to go easily, and she already knew that Torn wasn't gonna be letting go that easily.

She was ready for whatever came next... whatever it was.


	31. It Was Great, But

AHH! I forgot to tell you all… I can only update on weekends now because of school. Man, you guys must have been worried I'd gone on hiatus or somethin'… Well, try not to worry too much, and I'll see you all next week!

Enjoy the update!

**I own nothing…. MUAHAHAHA!!! **

OWTF!!

**Sammich  
****It Was Great, But...**

"You wanted to speak with me?"

Ashelin smirked across her desk at the woman who had just entered her office. "Yes, Ume, I did."

Ume sighed, pushing a tendril of black hair behind her ear. "What, did you finally find a just cause to shut the HCPD down? I have more important things to do, you know."

"Tsk..." Ashelin leaned back in her chair, smirking lightly. "I actually had a situation that would work out rather well for both of us. It's quite simple... I hand over someone to you who's committed a... slightly large offense, and you get rid of that person."

Ume stared at Ashelin for several seconds, probing for signs of deception. She trusted the red headed Baroness about as far as she could throw her, and seeing as she would be shot if she even touched the woman, that wasn't very far. "I take it you don't like this person...?"

"You could certainly say that." Ashelin gestured to a chair. "Please, sit."

Ume gave her a look, and came completely into the room, and stayed standing. "So, what has this person done?"

"No records." Ashelin said it lightly. "Illegal immigration."

"Yeah, so?" Ume raised an eyebrow. "Last I checked, those cases were forced to either leave, or, in the case that they still wanted to stay in Haven, they filled out a proper ID form and went away for five years."

"True."

"And yet you say for me to get rid of her." Ume leaned over the desk, putting her hands down on it. "Ashelin, why do I suspect you of having a hand in this?"

Ashelin's lips curved into a slight smile. "You could say I might have... forgotten, to file her information on the account of making sure she doesn't steal something of mine."

"Forgotten?" Ume's gaze hardened further. "And you know that if you're caught omitting government documents in your own personal interest--"

"That I can be ripped from the seat of power and perhaps even forced out of the city into the wasteland? Oh yes, I am aware. On the other hand... that's only if someone presses charges."

"I'm pretty sure someone's going to press charges if you're caught."

"And what do you care, Ume?" Ashelin smirked. "I'm the one at risk here, not you. It's a no-lose situation for you."

Ume smirked. "Yeah... I know. I'm beginning to like this deal, but just one good case isn't much..." Her eyes glittered. "I want something else."

"Hm?"

"Torn. Next time he looses it--"

"He's yours, if he does. He recently was let go from the FL, thus we can't back him up anymore." Ashelin's gaze had grown hard. "So that should be enough for you."

Ume weighed her options. She had two choices here, and one was looking very nice to her right now.

"What do I do?"

Ashelin gave a grin. "Just wait for me to tell your boys where to go."

* * *

Alex sighed slightly, looking up, watching the sunset while walking. Yeah, not only had she left her apartment, she was actually taking part in a social activity under Loor's request. On the other hand, it wasn't all bad, mainly because a particular tattooed ex. FL man was holding her hand.

Basically, Loor had decided it was a good night to get the gang together for a little hangout session at the Naughty Ottsel. Not really anything formal, just a random thing. Alex guessed it was more of Loor's way of saying 'Oh yeah! I _knew_ you two couldn't stay away from each other!!' Either way, it meant that Torn and Alex had to move off of the couch where they shared their first major kiss and walk down to the Naughty Ottsel for dinner.

Loor had actually dropped by when she handed out the invite, and she also have a box of salvaged things from Torn's apartment, which, in cause you don't remember, was destroyed when our buddy went on a rampage. Among the various items in said box were clean clothes that buddy-boy changed into, the picture of him and Ryan, Alex's outfit from that night (And her comm. for that matter), Alex's blue scarf that had been gifted to her by Torn that she had been wearing that night, and a particular green stuffy that Alex had gifted to Torn.

Yeah, the croco-dog plushy survived.

Oddly enough, it didn't take long for Torn's crap to get arranged around Alex's apartment. You'd almost think he was going to be hanging there for a while.

When the couple got to the place, they found Loor and Jak had already beaten them there, and that Lynn was currently getting baby-sat by our friend Fury, who had to mind the shop anyway and thus was not able to make it. Also present was, of course, Daxter, who looked ready to bust it out and go nuts, and Tess, who looked rather relaxed for being very pregnant. Alex had to wonder how she could deal with Dax being such a live wire all the time, but some how she managed.

It was probably the same way Torn dealt with her bi-polar and hyper-ness.

Loor was leaning against the bar, smirking at the fact that Torn and Alex were holding hands. "Well, well, well, you two finally made it."

Alex nodded, glancing at Jak's silent smirk that would speak volumes to the trained eye, a trained eye that his wife probably had. The most Alex could get out of it was a heavy helping of being smug. "Yeah," Alex's sense of humor had worked up. "We would have been here sooner, but Torn kept me stuck on the couch."

Loor's face got the actual meaning of this and the perverted one, snickering and Torn gave her a slight look before cracking a smile. "You can't blame me." He returned, adding to the joke.

Dax smirked, jumping to Jak's shoulder like he would during the old days. "I hear you, brother. It's a little hard to resist when they live with you, which is why I moved out when buddy-boy and Loor got married..." He rolled his eyes. "Seriously. I couldn't sleep."

Loor made a swat at the ottsel as he jumped away. "Yeah, and when you and Tess stared living together, I'm pretty sure no one slept in this neighborhood!"

Torn rolled his eyes. "At least they could keep off of each other that long." He went behind the counter, helping himself to one of the bottles back there. "Last I checked, Loor got deflowered at FL HQ."

Jak snickered, leaning over the counter and smirking. "What, jealous?"

"What are you talking about?" The commander snorted, ignoring Dax's protests as he served himself a drink. "A good relationship isn't about sex. Anyway..." He glanced at Alex, smiling. "I've got all I need now."

Alex felt herself blushing, and Loor walked up to her and then past her, motioning to a booth as the guys started talking at the counter. Dax huffed for a few more seconds about the drinks before excusing himself to the back to turn on some music.

Loor sat down, Alex across from her. "So, is everything straightened out?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah." She gave a small smile. "It's all okay now. We just needed to talk."

"Good." Loor sighed, leaning back. "In all honesty, I was worried you'd go ax murder on him when he showed up. I mean... I know how you get when you're depressed. You know, those 'I fucking hate everyone' moods."

Alex snickered. "I was in that mood... but..." She shrugged. "I donno. I was just a little surprised he had come around... and then we started talking..."

"He hasn't tried nothing, has he?" Loor gave a wary glance up to Torn.

"No, though Corky suggested it."

"Oh yes, the hero of the day, right?"

Alex giggled, shrugging. "I guess you could call him that. I didn't know a hero could weigh in at less than ten pounds, but you see new things every day."

"You're gonna be seeing a lot of new things, I should think." Loor leaned herself over the table, resting her head on her arms. "I've seen several new things in just this past week."

"Like?"

"Well, for one, I think that smile on Torn's face is most definitely new. I've been thinking a lot, Alex."

"Yeah?"

"You know... I think when the precursors welcomed me to stay... I think I changed a lot of things on how this world was gonna go. I've been rather blind, in all honesty, first with my overreacting about you being here, thinking that everything was gonna be hunky dory after the events in Kras city, and all that stuff... They said there were more adventures to come, and accepting me made me a part of those adventures... but I think there was something else."

"Like what?" Alex asked, looking a little concerned. Loor didn't talk like this that often, and it was a sign of her being very serious.

"I don't think your coming here... or the muse thing, was an accident. I think it had to happen."

Alex let that sink into her mind. Her coming here? Meant to be? Since when did Loor talk like this? Loor didn't like destiny, or events supposedly being laid out before a person came to them. But Loor was very serious in this thought, in this belief.

But that meant... Alex had a part in an adventure to come.

She snickered lightly, sighing and leaning over the table to be on Loor's level. "You think I'm ready?"

"I donno." Loor shrugged her shoulders. "Do you? I mean, it sound like fun, but lemme warn ya, it's not like the books."

"You don't have to tell me that." Alex looked over at Torn, who looked to be laughing at something Jak said. "I already know it isn't like that... but I think I'll deal."

"Just stay away from the artillery." Loor sighed, sitting up and stretching back.

"Why?" Alex gave, sounding slightly offended in a joking manner.

"Because, I don't trust you not to shoot your own foot!" Loor smirked at her. "Or look down the front end of the peace maker just because it's shiny."

Alex's mind lost all of the other words in the sentence, focusing on one. "Shiny?"

Loor rolled her eyes. "Yeah, shiny bad when it comes to guns."

"I hate fighting..." Alex groused.

"Then you'll fit right in." Loor sighed, not quite knowing why she felt so glum at the moment. "We don't do this cause we like fighting... we just do it because we have to... like super handymen."

"Super handymen?" Alex asked, giving Loor a look.

"Yeah." Loor shrugged, getting up. "C'mon, I'm gonna get Dax to punch this thing before his usual night time rush comes in."

"People?"

"Lots of people."

"Eww." Alex quickly got up, frowning. She went and clung to Torn, finding that whatever he had been sipping wasn't alcoholic, so there was nothing to worry about. Loor, on the other hand, was talking to a slightly tipsy Dax, who had gotten into his own wine stores. After a few seconds, Dax nodded at whatever her request was, and Loor leaned back on the counter, smirking.

"Hey, Alex, you know what rocks about precursor technology?"

Alex peeked around Torn, who had started scratching her head again. "Hmm...?" She asked dreamily as the scratching continued. Loor was pretty sure that, had she been in the muse form, she'd have one leg going a million miles an hour. Jak, on the other side of the counter, looking to have been talking with Daxter before Loor had dragged him away to request whatever she had been requesting, chuckled lightly at the look on her face.

"I can still access shit that we know about. Pictures, websites..." She gave a slight grin as a song came on loud over the speakers. "Music."

Alex glanced up slightly, still nuzzling Torn as she tried to recognize the opening riff. She didn't know the song, but she liked the sound, listening for the lyrics to come on.

_"Here in this diary,  
__I write you visions of my summer.  
__It was the best I ever had.  
__There were choruses and sing-alongs...  
__And that unspoken feeling  
__Of knowing that right now is all that matters..." _

Alex snickered at the lyrics. Well, she could certainly agree that this was the best summer she ever had... Loor grinned, and then made eye contact with Torn, jerking her head out to the center of the room, which had been converted a few months ago to a dance floor.

Torn glanced out at said dance floor and shook his head no, settling his other arm to hold Alex around the shoulder, the other one still making her purr. Torn didn't dance. In all honesty, nor did Alex. Loor sighed, turning to Jak, leaning on the counter. "They're no fun at all..."

Jak snickered at her, also leaning, meeting her forehead with his. "We could go and show 'em, but last time we danced, you nearly killed me."

Loor raised an eyebrow at him. "That's because it was one of my favorite songs, not to say that your music is bad."

He shrugged lightly. "Yours is better."

"Would you two get a room??"

Both Jak and Loor glanced over at Dax, who had returned from the back and was obviously tipsy, glaring at his old partners. "I swear..." The ottsel tripped slightly, which made Tess giggle. Loor had been wondering while the female had been so quiet all night, but now wasn't the time to question. "Every time I turn my back... you two are 'bout to top each other off!"

Loor lightly pushed the two-foot tall creature back. "Go pay attention to your wife. She looks lonely."

Dax looked confused for a moment, then turned around. Tess smiled and waved at him, apparently used to his strange moods when he was intoxicated, and the male ottsel tripped over to her as quickly as he could, suddenly on his knees, talking about how little he paid attention to her. Loor couldn't help but snicker as Tess drew him up into her arms, muttering random words of comfort.

She then looked back to see how the vertically odd couple was doing.

They weren't at the counter anymore.

In the course of the last few moments, the song had changed to something sweet and slow, and in that same amount of time, Torn and Alex had managed it out to the dance floor. And there they still stood, embraced, swaying slightly. You couldn't quite call it a dance... it was more of a rhythmic hug.

Loor smiled at the scene, looking back at Jak with a flash of pride in her eyes.

This cute scene was allowed to last for about twenty more seconds. It was about when the song ended, and the whole bar seemed to go into a still frame of utter cuteness, the door started to open.

As an automatic door, it opened at a fair speed, but not particularly fast. Well, whoever was on the other side was impatient, and forced the door open the rest of the way.

Loor stared for a few seconds, as did Torn and Alex as they came out of their own little world. Five people in uniforms came into the room. These people were not FL guards dressed in yellow and blue armor.

These boys were dressed in green and yellow; HCPD colors. Then, coming in behind these five goons, was someone that everyone but Alex was familiar with.

Dressed in a red woman's suit, looking all sorts of smug, was Ume. She stopped behind the center officer of her five-person formation, standing taller than him, and pointing at the couple on the dance floor. "You're under arrest!"

Torn glanced down at Alex, and sighed, slowly letting go of her, coming forward.

"Not you." Ume smirked. "Her."


	32. Not To Worry

Hello, hello, and welcome to this week's chapter! I'm sorry about the weekly process, but it's the way it has to be with school. –Tear- Oh well. We'll all live. Now, for this chapter, I hope you all remember a tad of foreshadowing back in the chapter 'Playing Fair' but if you don't, you'll be informed next week. Hehe….

**I don't own it; so (don't) sue me!**

OWTF!!!

**Sammich  
****Not To Worry**

"What?!" Loor yelped. "What the hell has she done??"

In one minor moment of shock Loor had advanced to Alex's side, Jak not far behind, and Torn had moved protectively in front of Alex.

"Illegal immigration, Loor." Ume seemed very, very, smug. "I'm sure you, Jak, and Torn, of all people, know the reason for her arrest... and the consciences."

"That's bull shit!" Loor growled. "I turned her papers in personally, _to Ashelin."_

"Last I checked, the Baroness doesn't handle government documents. That's for the people in the customs office." Ume motioned for Torn to get out of the way, though that was like an ant telling a tank to move. "I'd like to do this quietly."

"You failed that one when you tried!" Jak snorted, looking just about ready to let something really nasty out on Ume. Loor put a hand on him though, shaking her head lightly. It was hardly the time for that, just as the rumors had stopped only six months ago. Cause a ruckus now with Dark, and they'd have reporters at their door again, among other things.

Torn had sunk back slightly, taking Alex in his arms again, silently. It was a simple 'you have to go through me if you want her.' Type thing.

Alex couldn't help the fact that she had frozen with the adrenaline going through her. Arrested? But Loor took care of all that... unless Loor didn't, but that didn't make any sense. Her mind had attempted to lock into overdrive, but the gears got stuck. The best she could do at this point was wrapping her arms around Torn's waste.

Loor took a deep breath, looking back at Ume. "She has a right to a fair trial, just like anyone else in the city. If you take her, you will lose."

"Big talk from a freak." Ume gave. "You're impotent, I doubt either of you would kill me." She then turned her gaze onto Torn. "And this man is no longer protected. One slip up, and I can take him away."

Jak glanced at Loor. He was more than ready to take someone out, but it looked like she was coming up with some sort of plan. If that were the case, she would put herself in the lead position.

"If you're taking her, take me too." Loor finally gave, stepping forward.

Alex suddenly snapped into reality. "Loor? What?!"

"I can't." Ume said simply. "You haven't done anything."

"I claim to turning in her papers for her. The only way they could have been omitted is if they were wrong, and that puts forging government documents on my hands." Loor kept an even tone, even though her multicolored eyes were intense.

Ume seemed to weigh her options, glancing between Alex and Loor. Finally, she smiled.

"I don't know what you're playing at, but if that's the way you want it, that's the way you'll get it."

At these words, two of the five HCPD officers grabbed Loor.

"What are you doing?!" Jak snapped, both men, and Alex for that matter, left clueless.

Loor glanced back and smirked. "Don't worry. We get a trial, don't we?"

Alex noticed it, how expressive both of their faces suddenly got. Jak had been used to being a mute in his youth, and never spoke more than he had to. Loor, of course, had adapted to it... in a few seconds of eye contact, and a few twitches of the face, they had a complete understanding on something, and Jak backed down, suddenly smiling like she was. "Right." He muttered.

Loor turned to Torn. "Move." She commanded.

Torn, who was yet to say a word, glared at her, clutching Alex harder. He wasn't planning on it.

Ume smirked now. "Torn, do what she says. She'll be back in five years."

Alex glanced around, a little frantic. Loor seemed to have gone off her rocker, and her insanity had spread to Jak, and Torn was the only one left at her side! And... five years? She didn't wanna go away for any amount of time!!

"Alex."

She looked at Loor, whimpering.

"It's okay." Loor assured. "We won't be gone for long."

"What do you mean?!" She squealed. "Five years is a long time!"

Loor snickered. "Five years? I'll bet thirteen cents that we won't be gone for more than five days." Her gaze shifted up to Torn. "Let her go, big boy. We'll be fine."

Alex looked up at Torn, who's face was hard. He didn't like what was going on, but he had trusted Loor in the past...

Alex whimpered again as his grip loosened on her, and then fell off. He paused for a second, kissing her on the forehead, before backing away.

Two more of the officers grabbed Alex, pulling her back from the group.

Ume smirked. "Thank you all for your cooperation."

Torn wanted to kill that woman, but stood as she left with her goons and both girls. Once she was completely out of the door, and it had shut, he turned upon Jak. "Why are you so fucking calm?!"

Jak smirked, looking over to Torn. "Because, Loor has a plan."

"Well, it would have been nice if she could have said it before she got taken away! What the hell are we going to do?"

"Not much." Jak replied, still seeming rather calm. He went over to Daxter, who had passed out before the fiasco, and was currently sleeping on Tess's lap. She had been awake, but kept silent through the whole ordeal. He just wanted to make sure his old partner was going to be okay before he went. "I have to get home."

"You're not gonna tell me anything, when it's my girl who's at risk?"

"Loor is too. Forging government documents is a longer sentence, if you didn't know."

"And so you just let those two go?"

"I told you." Jak turned around, starting for the door. "She has a plan."

"You act like I already know what's going on, and you should be able to tell that I don't."

Jak stopped, still smirking. "Because you should know. Torn, when a person turns in papers, what do they get back after signatures?"

Torn stood there for a few seconds, and then smirked. Ume had forgotten, had she? He smiled, nodding in understanding. He got it.

"I'll see you at the trial." Jak said, exiting. "I have to go get Lynn and go home."

* * *

HCPD, in Old Haven, was connected to their prison area. On the other hand, Loor and Alex were yet to go there. No, they were in holding, within the station. It was a simple room with a two-way mirror, listing equipment, and of course, a camera in the corner. Loor seemed rather calm, going in there, but Alex was like a caged cat, literally.

"What the hell were you even thinking back there?!" Alex spat at her friend, who was sitting in the corner. "You just had to act like you were on top of things, didn't you?!"

"That's because I am, Alex. I'll explain later."

"I want you to explain NOW!" Alex turned, huffing, ready to punch Loor in the face. Punch that stupid smile that she was holding in place, and knock her head into the wall a couple of times. "It's your fault anyway! You were supposed to turn in my papers!"

"I _did._" Loor gave, standing up, still leaning in the corner.

"Then why are we here?" Alex glared at the two-way mirror. "You fucking heard her retards, we're innocent!! Let us the fuck out!"

"They won't listen to you..." Loor had closed her eyes. "In all honesty, they're laughing at your behavior."

"How the hell do you know that?!"

"Calm down... you can probably hear them too."

Alex paused, glancing at the two-way mirror, only seeing her reflection slightly dimmed from the real thing. She tried to still herself, and at once, her muse senses picked up. On the other side of the mirror... she could hear someone tittering..

She went closer to the mirror, trying to pin point this laughing. Trying to hear it...

_"This is the girl Torn fell for? She's laughable." _

"Ashelin!" Alex yelped in surprise.

"They've been talking like that since we got here." Loor gave.

"How can you hear them all the way over there?" Alex asked, turning slightly.

Loor snickered. "I got a lot of things going for me, you could say. Ashelin's dad gave me a lot of gifts in those eco treatments upon getting here, and enhanced senses would be one of them." Loor got away from her corner, walking toward the mirror. "And where you have to be up close to catch a few words... I have heard every detail of that conversation over there for the time we been here... down to the beating of their hearts."

"Who else is in there?"

"Who do you think? Ume, of course, and a couple of cronies, all of which have gone silent since you mentioned that you heard Ashelin."

Alex could almost feel the shocked emotions on the other side of the mirror. Loor walked up to it, looking as if she could see the people on the other side, though she couldn't. "That's right, you guys. We can hear you. Every last word, mostly you, Ashelin." Loor took up a smirk. "So, you did this in personal interest? You think he's gonna come back to you with Alex out of the picture?"

Alex was getting the situation very quickly. Loor _had_ turned in her stuff... and Ashelin didn't put it into the city records, making Ume able to arrest Alex and get her out of the picture.

Ashelin was that jealous.

"Come on, you think this is going to stand in court?" Loor asked, raising an eyebrow. Alex may have only been getting half of the conversation, but she put her ear to the glass so that wouldn't be true anymore.

_"My word against you two? I'm not that worried."_

"You should be." Loor smirked. "You've been blind, you know. I have a secret weapon that you'll never see coming if you don't buck up and get into the game."

_"Get into the game? I **own** the game."_

"Fine. Then you wouldn't mind moving our trail up, would you? I heard that it was going to be sometime next week, listening to you and Ume."

_"I could move it to tomorrow if I wanted to!" _

"Then do it."

There was a pause on the other side of the glass, and then there was a short laugh from Ume and Ashelin. _"Fine. I'll see you two in court." _

Loor grinned. "Oh yes you will."

It was about ten seconds later that both Loor and Alex were yanked out of that room and forced to give up all their things, switching into the orange jumpsuits of convicts. Not too long after that, they found themselves sharing a dank, blank, cell and a bunk bed that Loor took the top bunk on, relaxing and sighing as the guard left. The prison area itself was separated into two halves, men on one side, women on the other, so there were a bunch of guys behind bars across the hall and a bunch of girls through a barred window next door.

"Alright, can you tell me what's going on now?" Alex asked, a little nervous.

Loor leaned over the side of her bunk, smirking and glancing about, also listening. She didn't hear a whole lot of high tech stuff, all of which would have put off a high-pitched buzz. "Sure, come up."

Alex quietly came up to Loor's bunk, where Loor was sitting Indian style and slightly bent over. She sat and leaned over so they could speak quietly, just in case a guard came past or something.

"We have nothing to worry about." Loor finally said.

"You've said this already, I'd like an explanation."

Loor grinned. "Well, lemme start by saying that I love the Haven court system. It's not like home, where you present to a single judge and you have a lawyer and an attorney and so on and so forth." She shrugged. "On the other hand, at home, I never bothered to learn about the actual court system. Anyway, around here, you represent yourself to not one judge, but three members of the Haven council. There's one guy who questions both sides, hired by the government."

"Haven council?" Alex seemed surprised. "Even like small claims?"

"No, they have just one judge for those kinds of things, but the second you go into immigration, you just stepped on the big wig's toes." Loor sighed. "If an illegal immigrant turns out to be a metal head in disguise, like Kor was, it makes them look bad, and they care a lot about their images. Still, I don't care if it was this court system or the one back home, if there's one thing they can't refuse, it's cold hard evidence."

"Evidence?" Alex sighed. "That's the one thing we don't have, and Ashelin can pull it out of her ass."

"Wrong-o." Loor teased. "We have the one thing that's gonna yank her down to our level. I don't much care that we could press charges and take her out of her seat of power. Personally, I have a few choice punishments I like to dish out." She cracked her knuckles, grinning.

"But... what do we have?!" Alex was getting a bit annoyed now. Loor almost seemed to be avoiding saying anything about it.

Loor motioned her friend a bit closer, to whisper below the hearing range of any human. Thank goodness for the muse senses that allowed Alex to hear the strangled hissing whisper.

Alex's eyes widened, and she suddenly smiled. "Really? I can't believe she didn't remember."

"Me neither. That's why I was so shocked when she pulled the stunt. Still, she's already made the mistake, and now we get to take advantage of it."

Both girls went to sleep that night, mostly free from worry. Loor had to have a fleeting thought about how much Lynn probably missed her mother, not to mention that the poor infant would be stuck on formula for the night.

Alex's last thoughts were on Torn, and how much she would have liked to fall asleep using his chest as a pillow again.


	33. Caught In The Rain Reprise

Yeah, you read the thing right. This is the last chapter. Sammich is over, so enjoy it and review if you find it within your heart!

**Legalities: **I do **not** own **Jak and Daxter**, **characters**, **names**, or **trademarks** that belong to **Naughty Dog**, or anything else of that sort**. Alex** belongs to **my friend**, and **Loor** belongs to **me**, along with **various other OCs** appearing in this story and the **poem at the end, entitled Rain**. **Fury** belongs to my **other friend**. Don't sue me; I've done nothing wrong, and I have no idea how the court system works anyway.

OWTF!!!

**Sammich  
****Caught In The Rain (Reprise)**

It had been a long time since Loor had been escorted by armed guards, about a year. Still, despite that fact, she was rather calm about it. Alex, who had never been through such a situation, was getting frantic despite how secure her own freedom, with Loor's, was. Big people in big armor with big guns surrounded her, and she had big ugly handcuffs on her wrists that were hurting her!

So did Loor, but seemed to care a lot less about that.

The way to where their trial would be held was a simple and short one, and Alex didn't really remember it, too busy worrying. Oh sure, Loor had hard evidence... but what if Ashelin had tried to off Jak and Torn so that they had no one to bring that stuff? She became very paranoid, clutching her own hands, as that was all she could do.

Their final destination was a grand room, big and brightly lit. It was almost like a courtroom at home with seating on either side, a clear area up front, desks for either side, a stand, and, completely centered, a place for three people to sit and survey everything.

Loor grinned at this sight. "I love this place."

"Why?" Alex asked, whimpering. She didn't like it. The room was imposing, and there were already a lot of people there. She hated people. Have we mentioned that? I think we have.

"Because, I've never been here before, and the first time is gonna be a victory."

"This is your first time??" Alex gave in a hushed tone as the girls were pushed to one of the desks, the one on the left, and their wrists were let free. "I thought you knew what you were doing!"

Loor shrugged, seeming not to understand what had lost so much of Alex's confidence. "In theory. No big deal."

"You can say that when I'm stuck in a prison cell for five years!" Alex snapped.

"You won't be." Loor sighed, leaning back in the chair that she had. "As long as Jakkie boy gets here on time..."

As if on cue, the doors at the far end of the room burst open. Alex jumped, but Loor didn't turn her head at all. Walking down the middle from the doors, of course, would be Torn and Jak. Jak had not bothered to dress up, and looked confident as ever. Torn, on the other hand, wore a clean and regal outfit, walking stiffly, as if he hadn't slept. Her and Torn made eye contact, and he gave a small smile.

Under Jak's arm was a large folder.

"Hey." Torn greeted as they went past the barrier, pulling up extra chairs. The desk had become overstuffed, but the girls didn't seem to care. Alex flew out of her seat and into Torn's lap, hugging him and nuzzling into his chest, purring as he stroked her hair and whispered words of comfort. Jak, beside him, smirked at the scene and then looked to Loor, handing over the folder.

Loor took it, opening it and glancing over the contents, making sure nothing was missing. "Very good... this should be over quickly."

"Yeah..." Jak nodded, sighing and leaning over the table to his wife, catching a quick kiss that carried some of how much he missed her the night before. They'd get it out of their systems later, but it was a nice token.

Loor glanced over to Torn to see Alex, completely melted in his lap, her face spread with a giddy smile. "That didn't take long..." Loor gave dryly.

Another entrance was marked by the banging of the doors at the end of the room, heralding the entrance of the two most unlikely allies in the whole shindig. Ume and Ashelin walked in together with all sorts of documentation with them; probably crap they had pulled out of their own asses over the past few hours. Ashelin was full of confidence, but Ume looked just a little shifty, both women sitting in the desk on the right and Ume messing with the hem on her suit coat in nervous energy.

Loor had to glance about at what was becoming quite an audience in the room as well; various people who just wanted to see what trouble Ashelin had gotten herself into, and friends of Torn's from the FL. She met eyes with a few of them, recognizing Ryan and Mikey, before putting her butt back into her chair and waiting for the last few people involved to come out.

It didn't take long.

From a door behind the raised platform came three older people, one woman and two men. They dressed in dark uniform, and the woman sat in the center while both men took seats at her sides. At once, what little chatter that was in the room hushed, as the main event was about to begin.

The woman, helping a set of half moon glasses onto her nose, picked up a stack of paper, reading what as at the top quickly, and then glancing up in slight shock, her eyes cutting into Ashelin like an angry parent, before looking back down and continuing to read.

Her eyes then dashed to Loor, Jak, Alex, and Torn.

"Lauren," She gave, using Loor's real name. "Is there a reason your husband and Mr. Reash are sitting with yourself and the accused?"

"I haven't seen him all night." Loor gave back truthfully. "The boys missed us."

"I don't care."

Sullenly, the boys left the girls, letting themselves have a seat not too far away to watch, with the rest of the people in the room. The old woman sighed, and looked over at Ashelin, and then bowed her head to look back at the paper.

"Ashelin Praxis, you've arrested, in conjuncture with the HCPD and Ume Susame, Alexis Paulson for not complying with the laws of submitting proper registration, and Lauren Mar for forging the government documents that she claims to have handed in, but are not in the system." The woman's eyes went to the arrested. "What do you plead?"

"Not guilty." Loor gave, loudly and clearly. "I personally turned in Alex's papers, to Ashelin no less, after their completion. It's my belief that Ashelin did not admit this information to the system due to personal interest."

"That being?"

"Jealousy." Loor said the word lightly, looking over at Ashelin with a wide smirk. "You see, her old sweet heart found out she was a bitch."

There were scattered titters through the room, mainly from the FL folk.

"And what proof do you have of Ashelin committing such a crime, forgetting that she probably knows that such an act can have her removed from the seat of power?"

Loor grinned, standing up and picking up the file folder, delivering it to a guard near the platform, who checked it over before handing it up for all three elderly people on the platform to ponder over.

"The carbon copies of the forms. You'll see that they're fully filled out, and that on the bottom signature line..."

"Ashelin's name." The woman gave, looking down at Ashelin. "I would never... Ashelin, are you out of your mind?"

Through this whole exchange, Ashelin watched her situation go from bad to worse. Ume's nervous actions had grown too, and eventually, Ashelin looked crestfallen.

Hard evidence. She had completely forgotten...

"I... uh..." Ashelin, for once, was not on top of her game.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" The old woman snapped, standing up. "You, as a leader, should know better than to be doing stupid things like this and getting yourself impeached!"

"Whoa, lady!"

The woman's head snapped back to Loor, who was standing up and looking intent herself. Alex, on the other hand, had been slowly sinking in her seat under the heat of everyone's eyes on her. She didn't like all this attention. She just wanted to go home. "What?" The woman questioned.

"I never said I wanted to press charges. Me an' Alex here just wanted to keep our own asses out of the fire, pardon my French."

Ashelin, and Ume, glanced in shock over at the two girls who suddenly had the upper hand.

"But I would say that returning the cheep shot is a little below me at the moment... though I'd like to make a request in stead of pressing charges."

Slowly, the old woman sat down, looking at Loor and Alex for several moments. "That being?" She finally said.

"About five minuets outside the law." Loor shot a huge grin over at Ashelin and Ume. "Just so justice is served."

Ume leaned over to Ashelin. "Are they allowed to do that?"

Ashelin shrugged. "I don't know."

"You should, you freaking lead the city!"

"I was born into this position, remember? I run the place, it doesn't mean I know the rules!"

The old woman was giving Loor a funny look, and Loor smirked. "Don't worry. We won't kill them, just give 'em a new nose job."

Suddenly, the woman turned back to her two male colleagues, going into a hushed discussion. At once, chatter rose up from the people all around, and Loor sat smugly back into her chair.

Alex, leaning over her, stuck out her tongue at Ashelin, who just glared and raised the bird, which made Alex gasp and raise two, whilst still having her tongue stuck out.

Just as Alex had pulled back, and the birds were put down, the woman turned back, giving a slight smile.

She nodded at Loor, which caused shock to go around the room. Still, Loor grinned. "Great, it had been a while." She turned, motioning the boys up and going quickly over to Ashelin and Ume, who had gotten up to attempt an escape. "Nothing better than a good bout of violence."

The boys came up, and Loor got a hold of Ashelin, getting Jak to hold Ume. Torn and Alex would get to down the honors. On the other hand, just as Torn was rolling up his sleeves, grinning, Alex stopped everything.

"Wait!!" She squealed, locking into hyper mode. She ran over, jumping and lifting herself up to talk to the old people sitting on the platform. Loor stared as Alex spoke with them quietly, and the girl then turned, running out of the room faster than your average muse hyped up on caffeine.

A few moments later, Alex returned with several sporks, God only knowing where she got them.

* * *

It was almost a year later; Jak and Loor's anniversary, when a party was being held at the Naughty Ottsel that was much like the one that had been ruined, only there were more small creatures running around. Lynn was coming up on sixteen months, and crawling. Tess had given birth to her own litter of three, which had become rather entertaining to Lynn while Loor was being distracted; thank goodness a play pen had been set up for this night.

The music was slow, swaying, and sweet, as couples got lost in their own worlds on the dance floor. Tucked away, near the door, in the shadows, would be Torn and Alex, equally lost and loving it. Alex worked now, the smell of all the animals she took care of clear on her skin and clothes, and Torn worked down the street at the shooting range, having scored an easy job right after the court case.

Loor, off to the side, leaning on the bar, smirked slightly, brushing her hair behind her shoulder. She was watching the couple as they hid away from the world, saying things that no one would ever know nor understand. "How much longer do you give him?" Loor asked, smirking, sipping at a mug in her hand; ice water.

"Donno." Jak answered, leaning beside her. "He's been trying all night..."

"Too bad they can't just get it over with the way we did..." She snickered, leaning into him.

"No... everyone has their own way... he'll figure it out."

"Yeah, but she knew he was nervous when she got here. One whiff was all she needed."

His arm came around her shoulders, watching closely as Alex pulled slightly away from Torn, taking his hand and pulling him towards the door.

Loor smirked. "Well, looks like we don't get to watch." She commented as Torn followed, seeming rather confused. Or relived. Or both. "Though it looks like someone else is..."

Following the couple was a yellow and blue muse, Corky, who had become part of the Mar household shortly after he had a run in with a net from the animal control service. He wore a purple collar as proof, with tags so he wouldn't be taken as a stray.

In all honesty, the pet was shared between their house and Alex's apartment, seeing as Corky liked to keep tabs on his human-muse friend.

No one noticed as the couple left, aside from those who had watched them leave and the one who had followed them. Loor contented herself with watching the party progress, seeing as she didn't really feel like dancing. Of course, Jak stood by her side, just watching as the music went from soft to tech, a heavy dance beat pounding out as lights started up.

Daxter certainly knew how to throw a party, even if he and his mate were handling the kids for most of it.

Though, on a slight irony, just moments after the couple left, after the party really seemed to be kicking up, there was a loud clap of thunder outside, and the power went out. Several people yelped, and Loor could hear Lynn throwing a fit, quickly going to her child as other's chattered excitedly, trying to calm each other down.

"Don't nobody worry!" Dax called over the clamor. "I got a generator!"

Loor, who now had Lynn in arms, passed Jak. "Help him with that, would you? I'm gonna... go see how bad it is."

In the darkness, she knew he had nodded at her, pausing for a quick kiss before she passed him, towards the door.

Outside, a storm had broken. Heavy ran was falling, almost in flash flood fashion, and lighting forked across the sky. Only a slight summer wind blew, and wherever Torn and Alex were, they weren't in sight.

Loor stood there, bobbing Lynn as the child sniveled, a small smile on her face as Jak came from the insides of the bar, the sound of a generator starting up followed by the music coming back.

"You think they'll be okay?" Jak asked, looking out at the downpour.

"Yeah..." Loor gave, smiling. "In all honesty... I think the storm is good luck. Anyway... their first meeting was caught in the rain."

And, in all honesty, Loor was right. Somewhere, under a walkway in the industrial section, two figures stood; the female in shock, and the male on one knee, asking the question he had been trying to get out all night.

She threw her arms around him in a crushing hug, as no words had to be traded.

Obviously, the answer was yes.

**_The End_**

_I'm standing here trying to stop the rain.  
__I'm praying here, to be whole again.  
__Over and over, the rain will come form your eyes.  
__When I try to stop it, don't act surprised.  
__I'll stand here forever, trying to stop the rain._

_Red eyes.  
__Bleeding heart.  
__Beyond hope.  
__And rain won't wash away._

_Take my hand as I stand here and try to stop the rain.  
__It keeps falling from your eyes, again and again.  
__Never again will the rain come from your eyes.  
__My arms are here for you, hardly a surprise.  
__I'll stand here forever, just to stop the rain._

_The rain in your eyes._


	34. Dedication

**A note from the Author**

Hello all out there on fanfiction. If you're reading this I assume you have just finished Sammich, what I concider to be my best Jak and Daxter story to date. In reading, you have come to learn a thing or two about me, some of my friends, and my pet. Bojo, the cat in the beginning of the story that Alex ends up fusing with to gain her muse powers, was my cat in real life as well.

I feel since you people got to know him a little bit through this story, you desurved to know that he recently died. On Saterday, April 10th, 2010, Bojo got in an accident with the garage door and broke his spine. My mother gave him the mercy shot, and we buried him in the back yard next to one of the trees.

Since he's technically part of this story, I'm dedicating Sammich to his memory. Call me sentimental, but he was my first and only pet so far. And since you all read this story, I feel he partically belongs to all of you as well.

We love you Bojo.

We miss you.

-Loor


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